Well, Hakuna Matata
by FanficFan920
Summary: 8-year-old Beckham Woods loves the Lion King trilogy, but what happens when lightning strikes, literally, and he ends up landing in Lion King 2: Simba's Pride? Join Beck as he makes his way through the movie and finds his place in The Circle of Life.
1. (Short) Prologue

**Hello Lion King Fans! This is FanficFan920 with a new fic. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I've always liked Lion King 2. The only problem, was there wasn't some talking where it needed to. I also love the "inserting OC into movie" fics. so, here it is. My OC, Beckham Woods, gets turned into a lion cub and lands near Kiara and Kovu during their first meeting. I will try not to make him a Mary Sue, but if I am, let me know and maybe give some suggestions on how to improve. Anyway, on with the story.**

Popcorn was popping in the microwave. The blu-Ray player was on and ready to go. Three discs lay on the table that sat between the couch and the television. All of them with Lion King on them. The only difference were the numbers. One disc didn't have a numeral. The second disc had a 1 and 1/2 on it. The third had the numeral 2 on it. 8-year-old Beckham Woods was prepared for a Lion King marathon.

Why is an 8-year-old home alone you ask? Well one, he's mature for his age, so stop thinking his parents are negligent. Secondly, his parents are only hanging out with friends down the street. So, they would be close by in case of an emergency.

Beckham, or Beck, as he prefers to be called, had hazel eyes, jet black hair, and loved The Lion King. It was his favorite Disney franchise, considering it had done better as a whole than the others. Aladdin came pretty close, but that lion head made out of sand could give him nightmares for a week.

"Finally, I have the whole house to myself." Beck said to no one. He sat down on the couch with his popcorn, which had finished popping a moment ago. The night started by watching the original Lion King.

"Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase." Beck sang along with Timon, Pumbaa and Simba.

Later on, a smile came to his face once more, when Timon's hula song came on. There was a reason it made people fall out of their chairs laughing.

It was about 10:30pm when he reached the last movie, Lion King 2: Simba's Pride. Don't get him wrong, he thinks that The Lion King 1 was way better, but, what Disney sequels live up to the original?(*cough* Rescuers *cough*) Simba's Pride was his favorite Disney sequel, and he's seen all of them. The only sequel, that's not Pixar, that can live up to Simba's Pride would be Aladdin: King of Thieves or Rescuers Down Under.

As 'He Lives in You' begins to play, the tv went black.

"Awe great." Beck grumbled in annoyance. He got up to go turn the tv back on and reset everything. For an 8-year-old, he was pretty handy, he had his Dad to thank for that.

Little did he know, a cloud was over the house, a dark one.

As the boy pressed the button to turn the tv back on, it happens. He felt electricity surge through his body. It was the worst pain he had experienced. Consequently, he let loose a gut-wrenching scream.

"AAHHHHHHHHHH!"

The last thing he could remember before he blacked out was a orange light and had a distinct brownish tint.

 **Well, that's the prologue. Sorry it's short, but then again, prologues are supposed to be short. Anyway, R &R and F&F (Follow and Favorite). Review Please!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello Lion King Fans! First of all, I would like to thank superstarampharos and GuardianSaint for reviewing. It means a lot. Anyway, I actually have a question for you all. Which Lion King was your favorite? 1, 1 and 1/2, or Simba's Pride? What was your favorite song from each movie? Review or PM your answers. If you haven't seen all 3, then just pick the songs from the one or two that you have watched. Alright, I have talked for long enough, on with the story!**

"Move it!" Kiara, daughter of Simba, yelled as she landed on the alligator's (crocodile's?) mouth, thereby snapping it shut. This adrenaline fueled action bought Kovu, a brown and black lion from the Outlands, enough time to climb a tree branch to reach safety with Kiara in tow.

The two cubs breathes heavily due to the experience they had just went through. To be certain they were safe, they peered over the edge to indeed find the reptiles could not climb the bank. They were safe.

"I did it." Kiara muttered, "I did it!" the gold cub repeated, sticking her tongue out at the quadrupedal reptiles.

"HA!" Kovu gloated while the pair backed away from the edge.

"Oh, man. Did you see the size of those teeth? They were going..." Kiara began to imitate what she thought a chomping croc sounded like.

Little did the pair know that they were being watched, by Kovu's mother the wickedly zealous Zira.

"He was totally eatin' me up right there. And I jumped on his head and I bopped him so good..." Kiara continued her spiel.

"We make such a good team." She realized, "And you..." She addressed Kovu, "You were really brave."

"Yeah? You were pretty brave too" Was Kovu's reply.

"My name's Kovu." Kovu introduced himself.

"I'm Kiara." The golden cub replied, unaware that this made their spy angry. Somebody needs to see an anger management counselor.

The two acquaintances were about to exchange in a new topic of conversation when a loud groan, from the grass away from Zira, interrupted them.

"Huh?" Kiara asked herself. Being the adventurer she was, she walked toward the sound. Kovu was a bit hesitant.

"You coming or what?" Kiara asked.

'Please say no.' Zira thought to Kovu. Unfortunately, lions don't communicate through thought.

"Alright." Kovu caved as he followed Kiara into the tall grass and out of Zira's sight.

'Darn that child.' Zira thought/cursed.

As the two cubs proceeded the sound increased. After walking around in there for about 2 minutes, they found something quite unexpected. It was an unconscious cub. By the looks of it, he was male, had a jet black small mane that hasn't fully grown, and had brown fur, though a lighter shade than Kovu's. The cub's eyes began to flutter open.

"Hey. You okay?" Kiara asked.

"Oh, everything hurts, what?" The cub breathed.

"She asked if you were okay." Kovu clarified. Immediately, the cub's eyes shot open. He let out a short scream.

"Ahhhh!" He yelled in surprise. He tried to get up, but fell down again.

"What the..." He said in confusion. He looked at his paws. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"What in the name of..." He muttered.

"Hey, you alright?" Kiara repeated.

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." The cub replied, though in reality, he wasn't.

 **A Couple Hours Earlier...**

It was nighttime in savannah. All animals were asleep, except a certain baboon. t was this reason that no one, outside of high m, noticed a tiny orange light appear in the sky. However, what the baboon didn't see was a small figure emerging from the portal. It was an unconscious cub. He was male, had a jet black small mane that hasn't fully grown, and brown fur. The cub landed on the ground with an all mighty crash, and he lay there, unconscious in the grass.

 **Back to the Present...**

'If I am where I think I am, there is only one animal that can even consider my situation.' The unidentified cub thought.

"I do have a question." The cub announced.

"What?" Kovu asked.

"Do you two know where Rafiki the shaman's tree is?" The coffee colored cub ascertained.

"Oh, oh, I know where it is! Daddy takes me there sometimes.(1)" Kiara answered.

"How do I get there?" the cub asked.

"Just walk straight in that direction," Kiara pointed to a tree in the far distance that had a very distinct thick trunk. " and you'll be there." Kiara informed.

"Thanks." The cub said as he got up and began walking with a bit of a limp in the direction Kiara pointed.

"Wait." Kovu halted the coffee colored cub's motion.

"Who are you?" The Outlander asked.

The cub turned his head as far back as it could go.

"My name is Beckham, but you can call me Beck." The now identified coffee colored cub sauntered further into the tall grass, set on reaching Rafiki's tree."Well, he seemed pretty alright." Kovu told Kiara.

"Yeah, he seemed cool." Kiara agreed. Suddenly behind them, the grass rustled and none other than Simba appeared, growling at Kovu. Subsequently, Zira revealed herself, finally finding the duo, by tailing **(2)** Simba. She solidified her presence with a full blown roar.

 **Alright. That's a good place to end things, right? If you want to know what happens with Zira and Simba, watch Lion King 2: Simba's Pride. It happens roughly 13 minutes in. The reason why I am not finishing that scene is due to it being a part of the movie, therefore, the readers don't need clarification on that topic. However, if you think this mentality is less than effective, just review or PM me expressing your concerns. Also, review or PM me if you have other questions or comments. Now, the footnotes:**

 **(1): I don't know for sure if this happened or not. For the sake of the plot, if you could let that go?**

 **(2): It's a pun, get it? Tails, tailing?**

 **Remember, R &R and F&F! Fanfic920 is out, Peace!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hello Lion King Fans! Thanks to the 3 authors who reviewed, you know who you are. All reviews mean a lot to me, so all reviews are greatly appreciated. Alright, I have gone on long enough, on with the story!**

 **Some Years Later...**

It is nighttime in the savannah. The darkness of night permeates the air like black food dye. It has been sometime since Kiara and Kovu first met, and Rafiki is busy drawing figures on his tree. All the while speaking to Mufasa, Simba's dead father.

"Hey, how come I'm not on there." Rafiki heard behind him. His adopted son Beck had returned from the Outlands.

"Calm yourself Beck. The only the reason you are not up here, is because you are here." Rafiki explained cryptically.

"Still would be nice though." Beck remarked. He had changed over the past several years. His mane is now longer and is a mess of black, almost like a wig. Add on his brown fur and sharp teeth, heck, you could mistake him for an Outlander. He really loved it in the Lion King world, the leisure, the excitement, the whole world was his bathroom, and especially the long time skips which gave him some inconsequential downtime. This especially proved true where the former human met Kion, Simba's second cub, and his Lion Guard.

Considering he was an avid fan of the franchise, he was shocked that he had not seen at least a tv series about them. He chalked it up as something that hadn't been announced yet when he left his old home. It had been fun, going along and helping them once in awhile, the adventures they had, the friends they made. All these adventures could really write their own book, but those are other stories.

However, luckily for Beck, he never met Simba during that time, and he made Kion and the Guard promise to keep their knowledge of him secret, because he was focused on the plot of Lion King 2, and in order to do what he wanted to do, Simba cannot know of him at all. He just hopped Kion never blabbed.

It was interesting to say the least when he heard Kion's story about The Lion Guard forming. Now I'm the only Lion King fan that knows how Scar became evil. It hurt to tell him he couldn't join him on his mission that would take him away from the general vicinity for awhile, but I guess if everything the light touches is the Pridelands, then there's a lot that needs protecting.

Thinking about how he got here, Beck remembered the night that he met his new guardian, Rafiki. It was, interesting.

 **FLASHBACK**

Limping towards his destination, a distraught Beck began assessing his current situation.

'Alright, I'm in the Lion King Universe, in the beginning of Simba's Pride, which means that after today, there won't be anything for a few years, which should give me plenty of time to think of a plan to go through the movie without damaging a thing." He thought.

What? He's a fan of the franchise, who wouldn't go through the movie? However, he cannot do this alone. The only animal that he could think of that could take him in and understand him is Rafiki.

Honestly, Rafiki was actually a character Beck liked. So, why not get to know him better? Beck had reasoned with himself.

As he continued his trek towards the thick trunked tree, Beck began to think about how he would be able to be apart of the movie without changing much of anything. Since he met Kiara and Kovu earlier, that establishes some familiarity. Maybe work with Kovu to save Kiara from the fire? That way it gets both of them into the Pridelands?

'Ugh, I should think about this later. I need to get Rafiki's help. This whole 'walking on four legs' thing is not easy. How do dogs do this?' Beck asked himself.

After what felt like an eternity, Beck reached the tree. Unfortunately, he made the stupid decision trying to climb the thing. All it did was make his rump acquainted to the ground.

'Right. Lion's can't climb.' Beck reminded himself. He was never one to be good at Science, or common sense if he didn't analyze a situation enough.

'Well, here goes nothing.' Beck thinks to himself. He had hatched a plan to get Rafiki's attention. He began to attempt to roar. Unfortunately it came out like a "SQUEEEEEK!". So, he tried Plan B, Shouting.

"Rafiki! Are you up there? Can use a little help down here!" Beck yelled.

He soon saw the mandril-baboon hybrid look down at him from his humble adobe. His look was one of interest, as he had not seen me before, yet he had a look to him that he should do something, like Mufasa had told him to do it.

"Who might you be, little one?" Rafiki asked as he climbed down.

"Mr. Rafiki..." He cut me off.

"You can call me Rafiki."

"Right, Rafiki, I was wondering if you could help me. You haven't seen anything strange or other-worldly recently, have you?" I asked, emphasizing 'other-worldly', deciding to go straight to the point.

"Well, now that you mention it, about two moons ago, I saw a flash of orange in the sky. I have been unable to explain it since." Rafiki explained.

"Well, I think that it might have been me. You see, I wasn't always a lion. I used to be a bipedal creature with a whole lot less fur, and deposable thumbs to pick things up with called a human. I was minding my own business when I went unconscious, but before I did, I saw an orange glow and my skin had a brown-ish tint in it. I think the orange glow I saw, is the same as the one you saw." I explained.

"Hmmm, well, that explains how you can barely walk without a limp. However, I still don't know what a human is." Rafiki explained.

'Well, I guess I can confirm the movie takes place either before humans or a very secluded area.' Beck thought to himself before addressing Rafiki.

"Well, one thing I learned where I came from, is that humans are descendants of primates. So, imagine an ape standing upright, thinner, and a lot less fur, that's basically a human." I explained.

"Interesting. Maybe The Great Kings of The Past sent you hear for something?" Rafiki postulated.

"Well, when I got here, I met two cubs, Kiara and Kovu," 'If Rafiki thinks I was sent here for something, maybe I can use this theory to my advantage. Besides, it's more than likely true anyway' Beck thought, " and once I limped away, I heard a confrontation. Could that be my reason?"

"Kiara? Simba's daughter? Well, I'd have to ask Mufasa, but I think that moment may turn into a conflict you can help resolve. Come, we can ask Mufasa now actually." Rakish climbed his tree. The problem? I was still on the ground.

"Uh, Rafiki!" I called. Once, he looked down, I attempted to climb the tree to no avail. Rafiki chuckled to himself sheepishly.

"Right. Apologies." Rafiki apologized as he came down and picked me up. Carrying me up as he climbed.

As we reached the tree's top, which served as Rafiki's home, I looked around in wonder. It was one thing to see it on screen, but to actually see it is something else. You can even see Pride Rock on the horizon. Rafiki placed me down as he he went to an edge of the tree.

"Mufasa, I have some questions, are you there?" Rafiki asked the night sky. The clouds suddenly began to morph into the shape of a lion. So this is how Simba felt when he saw this. It was amazing. In the clouds was Mufasa.

"Hello Rafiki, my old friend. I see you have met my messenger." The cloud spoke in a booming voice.

"That is what I have to ask. Why is he here?" Rafiki asked.

"I brought him here to help resolve a great conflict that will befall the Pridelands. He has been bestowed knowledge of past and future events to aid him in his choices. In the meantime, you are to look after him and not tell anyone of his existence. It is vital you do this. I trust Beckham to know what to do. I actually have a plan of my own concoction that I can reveal when you are ready, but for now. It is up to you two." Mufasa explained.

"You can count on us Mufasa." I replied.

"Thank you." Rafiki thanked.

"I know I can, Beckham, and your welcome Rafiki. Alas, I must go now." The cloud began to dissipate.

"Goodbye Mufasa." Beck said.

"Well, it's been a long night. Let's get some sleep, yes?" Rafiki suggested.

"Sure." I agreed. As I went and laid down in a pile of leaves that Rafiki piled up for me. I went to sleep thinking up a plan for what to do for the next few years.

 **Well, there you go. I felt that I wanted to go on the Arrow route and combine the present plot with flashbacks. If there's a problem with it, review or PM your concerns, and I'll see what I can do. As you can see, there are some adventures where Beck joins up with Kion in Lion Guard, but until the series premieres, there's nothing much there. However, if you want to see Beck's adventures with the Guard, I'll be doing it in a separate story. The flashbacks in this chapter explore Beck's adjustment to Prideland Life and the reason he was in the Outlands at the beginning of this chapter. Again, review or PM your thoughts on this as I want to write what my readers want to an extent. Until then, soma, mapito, pendwa na folow. (That's Swahili for Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow.)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hello Lion King Fans! Hope you all are enjoying the story. Thank you to all the reviewers who have reviewed, you know who you are. Anyway, starting to settle into the new formula now, with flashbacks. Let's get this party started!**

 **A Week before Kiara's Solo hunt (AKA the night at the beginning of last chapter)...**

Beck was brought out of memory lane when Rafiki began speaking, to him and Mufasa. That's when it dawned on him, he was in the movie now.

"Oh, Mufasa, Beck, every day Kiara grows more beautiful, into a queen that will some day make us all very proud. But Kovu also grows stronger and Zira fills his heart with hate. I'm very worried. Things are not going well, no." Rafiki looked like a plant drooping due to lack of water. It didn't suit him. The wind blew in Rafiki's face, signifying Mufasa saying something. The wind began shaking some fruit above in a higher branch.

"Mm? You have a plan?" Rafiki asked. One fruit had now fallen and cracked on the wood below.

"What?" Rafiki asked himself.

"Kovu. Kiara. Together?" He clarified.

"I think so." Beck voiced his opinion on the matter.

"This is the plan?" Rafiki asked.

"Are you crazy? This will never work. Oh, Mufasa, you've been up there

too long. Your head is in the clouds." Rafiki objected, more than likely to both of us.

"Come on Rafiki, don't be like that. Mufasa said it himself years ago. He had a plan and this is it." Beck backed up the dead lion. Mufasa apparently agreed with my current sentiments for Rafiki and blew some wind in his face.

"OK, OK, OK, OK. All right, OK!" He relented.

"I don't think this is going to work,

but I trust you." Rafiki said to Mufasa and probably me as well.

"Trust me Rafiki. I got this. Just prepare Upendi for some visitors and have the song ready. I'll join you. I know them. There'll be some bumps in the road, but it'll work." I reassured.

"I just hope you know what you are doing." Rafiki said to me as Mufasa's wind left.

"I do know." Beck said to the mandrill-baboon hybrid.

 **FLASHBACK**

"Alright Beck. The first thing you must learn is how to walk with four legs. Luckily, I do both." Rafiki briefed. It was mid morning in the Pridelands and Rafiki wanted to get me walking correctly so I could get around easier.

"Awesome." Beck replied enthusiastically.

"Now, how do you walk at this moment? This way, I can see what needs to be addressed." Rafiki orders.

Beck complies. His front legs moved just like human legs would, but his back feet just get drug along the bark of the treetop like a rag doll.

"Ok, ok. I've seen enough." Rafiki stopped the brown cub. Beck subsequently stops and balances himself. It was similar in feeling to standing upright as a human, but looks like he is using his hands and feet to stand.

"Alright, watch how I walk on four feet." Rafiki ordered, putting down his stick and begins to walk around in a circle on all fours.

"Notice how I step with my left hind leg, followed by my left front leg, then step with my right hind leg, followed by my right front leg, and so on." Rafiki explains as he walks. He demonstrates this for about another minute before stopping by his stick and retrieving it.

"Now, you try." Rafiki states.

"Alright." Beck complies.

'Left side, right side.' Beck thinks. He begins to move both his left legs. However, as he only got Rafiki's motion half correct, he became asymmetric and fell on his left side. It was a humorous sight, as Rafiki had to hold back a snicker.

"Dang it!" Beck cursed.

"Well, you cannot expect to get it on the first try." Rafiki reminds, still holding in a chortle.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Beck grumbles.

 **EARLY MORNING OF KIARA'S SOLO HUNT...**

Beck's eyes flutter open to a face full of baboon.

"Rise and shine Beckham, it's the day of Kiara's hunt!" Rafiki shouts.

"Ugh, just five more minutes, please." The brown-furred cub griped. Rafiki was not amused. You know what Rafiki does when he is not amused or he needs someone to do something?

"I'm up, I'm up!" Beck ascended from his slumber after Rafiki had done his signature action upon the adolescent lion, clobbering him over the head with his stick.

"Good, as I was saying, today is Kiara's solo hunt, so I will be gone for awhile." Rafiki informed. Once that was said, the gears began turning.

'Kiara's solo hunt. Crap, the movie restarts today.' Beck realized.

"Rafiki, before you go," Beck called Rafiki's attention, "I just want you to know that I'm going to be gone awhile. The great conflict Mufasa has mentioned is about to rear it's ugly head. I'm afraid that if my plan goes the way I planned, then I'll develop a temporary bad reputation among the other Pridelanders."

"In what way?" Rafiki asked.

"You will see all in due time. All I ask is, no matter what happens, that you trust me." Beck finished.

"Alright Beck, I trust you, I just hope you know what you are doing." Rafiki relented.

"Don't worry about a thing ,baba, when do I not?" Beck eased. Rafiki looked to have a little water in his eyes.

"Goodbye for now, mwana." Rafiki bid farewell as he left. Beck turns to gaze toward the Outlands from Rafiki's tree.

'After all these years and everything I've been through, all leads up to this. I won't let you down Mufasa.' Beck thought.

 **FLASHBACK**

Beck has been trying to walk correctly for about a week now. He nearly had the hang of it. He can walk for about 10 minutes around Rafiki's treetop home before he trips or becomes asymmetric.

"You nearly have it, Beckham." Rafiki encouraged. The brown cub collapsed on his belly for, well, he actually lost count about three days ago, but he knew it was a lot. This was straining at the cub's patience.

"Why can't I get this right?!" Beck exclaimed, frustrated.

"You will get it eventually Beck. All you can do is keep trying." Rafiki encouraged.

"What if trying's not enough though?" Beck asked.

"It will be enough. Just get up and keep going." Rafiki inspired.

'Put that with a crown on it and you've got a new t-shirt.' Beck joked to himself.

Beck put himself back on his feet and began walking again, trying to find his rhythm to prevent more slip ups.

 **2 hours later...**

"...and that's why animals sometimes spontaneously burst into song." Beck finished.

"Fascinating, and look at this, look at your legs." Rafiki responded. Beck did just that to find he was walking, without tripping. He did it.

"I'm walking. I'm walking! Yahoo!" Beck celebrated, however he made a pretty big mistake, trying to run. He couldn't get three feet before tripping and sliding across the wood like cheese on cheese grader.

"Which brings us to lesson number two, running." Rafiki said, smiling.

All Beck could do was grumble annoyance.

"Ughhhhhh."

 **Hope you all liked it! Just so everyone knows I have multiple stories. Look at my profile if you don't believe me, so if you're able to be patient with updates that would be greatly appreciated. Also, make sure to review and/or PM your thoughts or concerns. Until next chapter, soma, mapito, pendwa na folow. (That's Swahili for Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow.)**

 **Swahili Words:**

 **Baba: Father**

 **mwana: Son**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello Lion King Fans! Hope you all are enjoying the story. Thank you to all the reviewers who have reviewed, you know who you are. Anyway, we are getting into the swing of things now, so let's get going.**

A puddle peacefully rests on the dirt path, smooth as silk, nothing could disturb its serenity, except for one thing.

One of Beck's paws crashes into the puddle as he makes his distance between him and The Outlands smaller and smaller.

'I've got to be there.' Is the thought coursing through the adolescent lion's mind like blood in arteries and veins.

As he ran, he noticed a certain Hyena hideout. Man, that brought him back, no time for that now, though. He had to be there.

 **FLASHBACK**

Beck had finally mastered walking about two days ago. Today, Rafiki would train him to run, as lions need to do it more often than you think.

"Alright, now that you know how walk, running should be easy." Rafiki explained.

"How's that?" Beck asked.

"Because it's basically walking, only faster. Use the same foot order you use for running, but try to push off with your feet when they touch the ground." Rafiki instructed.

"Alright." Beck braced himself. He started walking around to get the foot order.

'3...2...1.' Beck counted down in his mind and then pushed off his front left foot. He managed to run for about 5 seconds before getting his feet got tangled together and he fell, sliding across the tree top like a hockey puck on ice.

"Well, that hurt." Beck summarized his condition.

"What did I say about walking?" Rafiki reminded him.

"You can't master it on the first try, I know." Beck recalled begrudgingly.

All Rafiki did was smile. Teaching Beck how to walk and run, maybe even some shamanism, it felt like Beck was his son. This is a fact Rafiki embraced.

 **DAY OF KIARA'S SOLO HUNT- OUTLAND DEN**

Zira approaches Kovu standing on a rock like a general staring down his regiment.

"You are ready." Zira tells her son.

"Nice... very... nice. You have the same blackness in your soul that Scar had." She continued. To even be mentioned in the same sentence as the "great" Scar was an honor in the Outlands.

"What is your destiny?" Zira asks.

"I will avenge Scar, take his place in the Pridelands," Kovu responded.

"Good, now, What have I taught you?" Zira asks.

"Simba is the enemy." Kovu replied.

"And what... must... you... do?" Zira asks with an insane look in her eyes that could rival The Joker.

"I must kill him." Kovu says, eyes narrowed. This elicited a great roar from the Outlanders.

"Wait!" A cry was heard.

"Who dares interrupt this moment?" Zira asks.

Beck makes himself visible, panting, as he approaches Zira and Kovu.

"Who are you?" Zira asks.

"You don't remember? Well, you were training Kovu all that time, guess you didn't really notice me." Beck explained and panted some more. He managed to run what looked like 20 miles in about as many minutes, maybe a little more in the minutes.

"Who are you?" Zira asks once again.

"Beck! You're back!" A lioness in the crowd yelled.

"Beck?" Kovu asked in vague familiarity. Beck just shot him an "I'll explain later" look.

"Hey Vitani." Beck greets the dark brown lioness.

"Vitani, you know him?" Zira asks in astonishment.

"Yes mother, his name is Beck and he took it upon himself to spy on the Pridelands for all these years. Tracking who is important, who is not as important, and many other things." Vitani explained. A smirk appeared on Zira's face, an amused one.

"And why, pray tell, are you telling me this information now?" Zira asks.

Having recovered from the run, Beck replied without having to pant between words, "I have come requesting to join Kovu in his crusade. I give him the opportunities, he takes them. From what I've gathered, Simba is a very hard lion to kill. After all, Scar never killed him. What Kovu has in blackness of soul, I have in cunningness, those were Scar's main qualities, and together, we can kill Simba for sure."

Zira seemed a little more convinced.

"Alright then, tell me, what is the best way to kill Simba?" Zira asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Beck smirked.

"It is quite simple. You want the death to be known to the Pridelands, yet not known. That is why the best way to kill him is to kill him alone, then drag the body back to Pride Rock. That way the death is public, but met with no resistance. However, Simba is not the easiest lion to get alone. So, you have to go and gain his trust. I'm certain you know this. However, there will be a time where Simba usually pulls someone aside to tell them Circle of Life crap, I've see him do it with Kiara. You go with Simba until he is unknowingly in a corner, and that is when Kovu kills him, but I don't think Kovu has to do it alone," Beck explains.

"Huh?" Kovu asks.

"You see, while I do agree Kovu has to kill Simba, the problem is, when Scar battled him, he did not win due to him being alone. If some other lions come to help Kovu weaken him, that will make Kovu's kill that much easier." Beck explained.

"See, he's good. Just like Scar on cunningness." Vitani supports.

Zira mulled it over. A Joker-like smirk appeared on her face.

"Very well, Beck, you may join Kovu, but you must let HIM kill Simba, do you understand?" Zira warned.

"I understand perfectly, also, a little tip. Now that I'm not behind the scenes, I suggest you follow Simba around and wait for my signal to get all the lions you can to weaken Simba to go to the dead forest. You know where that is right?"

"Correct. What would that be?" Zira asks.

"When I do this," Beck responds and gets up on his hind legs and rolls his front legs like a horse does. "It means get them there within the day. Then, all that is left is patience, another one of Scar's qualities, actually." Beck explained.

"You better not make me regret this, spy." Zira warned.

"Trust me, you won't." Beck falsely reassured.

 **FLASHBACK**

"Alright. You have to run around the tree trunk past me before I count to ten. Ready?" Rafiki instructed. It's been about two weeks since Beck began learning how to run. Today was sort of a benchmark day, to see how he was progressing.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Beck replied.

"Alright. Ready. Set..." Rafiki started. However, Beck ended up lurching toward to soon and falling onto his face.

"Ow, Rafiki, just say 'go' and only 'go'?" Beck suggested/asked.

Rafiki chuckled at the situation as Beck returned to his feet and to his starting area next to the baboon.

"Ready?" Rafiki checked.

"Yep." Beck replied simply.

"Go!" Rafiki yelled and Beck took off running.

"Back, front, back, front." Beck repeated himself softly as he ran and he hears Rafiki's countdown.

He heard Rafiki reach 10 about three quarters of the way around the trunk. He failed.

"Dang it!" Beck cursed.

"Well, at least it brings about your next issue, speed." Rafiki tried to keep up Beck's optimism.

"Yeah, but how am I supposed to do that?" Beck inquires.

"Well, as I always say, practice makes perfect. Plus, a cheetah helping out may be beneficial." Rafiki advised. Beck walked to close the distance between the two mammals.

"Well, I think asking a cheetah should be a last resort, since Mufasa made it clear to keep me a secret from as many as possible. Practice will be fine, for now. Should I run around the tree again and you just time me, see how long it takes?" Beck asked.

"Alright, fair enough. Ready?" Rafiki said. Beck simply nodded.

"Go!" Rafiki yelled as Beck sprinted off.

 **DAY OF KIARA'S SOLO HUNT**

"I don't get it. Why do you suddenly turn up after all this time, as an outlander spy no less." Kovu ranted. He's been like this ever since they left. Beck had some explaining to do.

The duo were now waiting in the grass for Kiara, so Beck figured now was the time.

"Kovu, I wasn't completely honest back there. The spying I did, it was actually on the Outlands. The Pridelands were where I was raised. Remember how I asked you and Kiara where Rafiki's tree was?" Kovu only nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, after I went there, he took me in and raised me to who I am today. I knew the Outlands were an issue, so I privately spied on you. No ill intent, I just wanted to see you, even though you couldn't see me. You had your training after all." Beck explained.

"Well, why did you lie?" Kovu asked.

"Well, on my first night at Rafiki's, the ghost of Mufasa, Scar's brother, paid us a visit, said the reason I was here is to be your friend, to be beside you, a team, and I intend to do that no matter why you choose to do, because friends stick together till the end." Beck explained, quoting Timon. He didn't exactly want to tell him 'I'm from a different world where you're a movie and I know what's going to happen,' so he bent the truth a bit. It seemed to satisfy Kovu. A little smile came to his face.

"You know, since Mother had been training me, I never really made any friends. Sure, there are my siblings, but they're different. It just feels great to have a person with you." Kovu explained.

"What about Kiara?" Beck asked, a little strategy here.

"Well, I felt something click when we met all that time ago. Although, I still consider her as an acquaintance at the moment," Kovu replied.

'Boy are you in for a good few days,' was Beck's thought at Kovu's reply.

"Well, looks like you'll get to see her again, same for me too." Beck added.

"True. Look, there's Nuka and Vitani." Kovu pointed out. Sure enough, we saw Kovu's siblings on a rock with a branch in each of their mouth's, ready to set the dry grass aflame.

As the the two outlanders began their arson of the field, Beck couldn't help making a reference to his home world, "Flame on." He said to himself.

"Mother said to go after Nuka and Vitani did their thing, which just happened. Let's go." Kovu recalled.

"Rodger that. Let's go play hero." Beck said as he and Kovu leapt into action.

 **Alright, so a little recap. Yes, it takes a little longer chapter-wise for Beck to learn to run, don't ask me why, it just turned out that way. Meanwhile, in the present, we are full swing into Lion King 2. However, one thing you'll notice is that Zira took a back seat this time. I needed to have Kovu and Beck have a private talk so I had Zira stay behind and Beck took her place. So, what did y'all think? Anything I could've done better? Anything you guys want to see? Let me know in a review or PM, I love getting both of those. Until next chapter, soma, mapito, pendwa na folow. (That's Swahili for Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow.)**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello Lion King Fans! Hope you all are enjoying the story. Thank you to all the reviewers who have reviewed, you know who you are. Now, I had a guest reviewer last time who I would like to answer so:**

 **Koal: Actually, the Flashbacks are their own thing. If you watch the tv show Arrow, they use flashbacks so we can see what happens to the character in the past, what happens to make him who he is. Here, two stories are being told. Beck adjusting to Prideland Life and going through Lion King 2. As for length, I mostly do the length I do to get updates out quicker. However, this chapter, I'll make an exception, just for you. I'm definitely not doing away with flash backs, so maybe to not interrupt the focus of the story, I could separate them into halves and not have them interchange. And when they do, it's during movie time skips. Thoughts?**

 **Alright, now that that's out of the way, away we go!**

'I have to get out of here.' That was all Kiara could think at the moment. Today had been pretty great, sure her dad sent Timon and Pumbaa to spy on her AGAIN, but other than that, things seemed to be going fine, at least until the fire she is currently running from.

The princess tried to follow two zebras out of the blaze of red and orange, but alas, the fire began to surround her like a moat to a castle. Smoke was water pouring into the pitcher that is her lungs at a rapid pace, and for the first time in her life, Kiara felt fear, genuine fear.

It was then that she saw her only way to survive, a large boulder, a little ways away. Gathering all the strength she could muster, the ash covered Kiara ran for the boulder and made a running leap, aiming for the lip of the large rock. Being a lion, climbing isn't her area of expertise, but these were desperate times, and they called for desperate measures. So, Kiara clawed, and clawed, and clawed.

Death was not an option. She wanted to prove to her father that she can handle herself and surviving a fire of this magnitude can surely convince him, but she had to survive first.

Finally, she was able to pull her self up from on the boulder. She may have escaped the flames, but she couldn't escape the smoke. Being exposed to the smoke for the amount of time she has has taken its toll. From a combination of exhaustion from the climb, and smoke inhalation, Kiara fell, barely on the brink of consciousness.

Behind Kiara, two figures emerged from the smoke, they saw Kiara and began to look upon her, as if analyzing her. Kiara felt their presence, and looked up to the two. They were the last things she saw before she passed out.

"Alright, she's definitely passed out now. Let's get her out if here before we get like that." Kovu said.

"Alright, you get the back, I'll get the front." Beck said. The two lions went to Kiara. Beck tilted her head to where her neck could be grabbed, just like Kovu had in the movie, and tossed her up onto his back. With her upper body now on Beck, Kovu simply bit Kiara's tail and hoisted the rest of her limp firm onto his back.

"Let's get out of here, shall we? I prefer to have a diet that is smoke free." Beck said before he and Kovu leaped off the the boulder and ran hell for leather. At first, they had a clear path, but alas, nature does not work like that, for a flaming tree had fell, obstructing their path. Kovu let out a frustrated growl and the lion duo turned a hard left at the tree. They passed on last burst of flame before they could not feel the ground under their feet.

Gravity took it from there. Beck, Kovu, and the unconscious Kiara fell from the bluff and into the stream below, not before hitting a couple rocks on the way down. As soon as they hit the water, density came to play. With no way to hold herself up, Kiara began to sink. Beck and Kovu noticed the and simultaneously dived under the water to retrieve their childhood friend/character in one of their favorite movies.

They were under for all but a few seconds. Kovu bit down on the fur of her neck and pulled, while Beck got in front of Kiara and pushed. The duo were to preoccupied to noticed Zazu flying above, seeing them saving Kiara.

"I must tell Simba." Zazu ordered himself. With that, he flew off to alert his boss of what he had witnessed.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, the trio of Beck, Kovu and Kiara had finally made it to shore. Beck had stopped pushing once Kiara had hit solid ground and box that occurred focused on getting himself to shore. With the lightened load, both Beck and Kovu got on shore at the same time.

Once he knew they were safe, Kovu released his grip on Kiara and her head fell back to the ground. Due to this, she began coming to. After a spurt of small coughs, she dazedly asked where she was.

"You're safe," Kovu began, before emphasizing, "in the Pridelands."

"The Pridelands? No! Why'd you bring me here? Who do you think you are?" Kiara asked in rage and frustration.

"I think we just save your life." Kovu replied, reminding Kiara of Beck's presence.

"I had everything under control." Kiara insisted.

"Yeah, sure you did." Beck sarcastically countered.

Kiara huffed in annoyance and turned around, intending to leave. Kovu ran around the lioness, blocking her path. Beck looked on, reminded of their encounter as kids. That's when he realized Kovu had meant to do that to get Kiara to recognize him.

'It's genius.' Beck thought.

Kovu gave Kiara a look of mock confusion.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Kovu?" Kiara asked, checking to see if this was the lion from her childhood.

Kovu smirked, confirming her suspicions. That was Beck's cue.

'I guess I'll just follow Kovu's example, better hurry, Simba will be here any second.' Beck decided.

The human-turned-lion let out the short yell, similar to the one when they first meant.

"Ahhh!" Beck yelled in mock surprise.

Kiara's face scrunched up as she searched her memory for that sound. Then, it looked like a lightbulb went off in her mind.

"Beck?" Kiara asked.

Beck smirked, "We have a winner. Good to see you again, Kiara." That was all Beck managed to get out before a certain Kion arrived on the scene.

"Kiara!" Simba yelled as he rushed over. Upon seeing Kovu and Beck, he roared defensively while getting between the soon-to-be mates.

"Kiara, you're alright." Nala nuzzled her daughter in relief once she reached her.

The reunion however, was cut short by some father-daughter issues.

"Father, how could you break your promise?" Kiara asked in controlled outrage.

"It's a good thing I did," Simba said, not taking his eyes off of the two black furred lions, "I almost lost you."

"No more hunts for you, not ever." He said with a mix of authority and relief.

"But I was doing just fine," Kiara protested, "even before Kovu and...", she never got a chance to finish before Simba echoed the Outland prince's name and unleashed a warning roar unto him, which was defiantly returned.

Beck decided to cut in right here, since Rafiki would be here to say his line. Plus, he REALLY wanted to introduce himself to Simba.

"Hi, uh, your majesty? Um, just so we're clear, you kinda did not let Kiara finish her sentence." That was probably not the best thing to say to the already agitated King, as Simba turned to Beck with the same feral look in his eyes that he gave Kovu. Needless to say, Beck was scared out of his fur coat.

"Who are you?!" Simba yelled/asked.

"Um, Hi, my name's Beck and I'm a friend of Kovu's." Once again, the mention of the Outland Prince's name brought rage to the eyes of the King, as he now looked upon both lions like they were his prey. Beck began fearing for his personal safety.

"Hey! You! How dare you two save the King's daughter?" Rafiki mock scolded, thereby saving Beck from having to fight. Beck shot him a 'thank you' look in gratitude before refocusing upon Simba.

"You two saved her? Why?" Simba asked, suspicious of their motives.

"Do you want to ask him, or should I?" Kovu consulted me. Beck smiled at the gesture, glad to see he was warming up him. Since there wasn't much prejudice between Simba and himself, Beck decided to ask him.

"I'll do it." Beck told his friend before turning to Simba.

"King Simba, your majesty, Kovu and I humbly ask to join your pride." Beck said with as much formality as he can muster.

"No." Simba said immediately, "You were banished with the other Outsiders, " He gestured to Kovu, "and I don't even know where you come from." Simba finished gesturing.

"Uh, Kovu, why don't you take this one." Beck stepped back and let Kovu talk.

"Beck and I have left the Outsiders. We are rogues. Judge us now, for what we are... or are we to be blamed for a crime we didn't commit?" Kovu asked with confidence.

Simba had to admit, he had a point, but it didn't mean he was happy about it. The king snarled as he paced, thinking of a response to what was just said to him.

"Simba, you owe him your daughter's life." Nala lobbied.

Zazu landed at the king's feet to offer his two cars to the conversation, "Mmm..." he tried to recall the protocol, "yes, sire. Clearly we are in his debt, and royal protocol demands that all debts be paid. Though in this case you might want to make an exception." The hornbill added looking at Kovu with wings at his waist.

"Wow, feeling the love." Beck responded to Zazu sarcastically.

Simba looked from his squire to Beck and Kovu and smirked to himself, his decision made.

"My father's law will prevail. For now, I reserve judgment." The King turned around and walking away, "We'll see who you two really are." Simba finished.

Beck gave a sigh of relief and Kovu smiled inwardly before looking at Kiara, who smiles back as if to say, "Nice Job guys."

"Hmph! Riffraff." Zazu said before taking off to fly alongside his King. The rest of the group, Kovu, Beck, Kiara, then Nala, lagged behind the monarch and his squire as they made their way to Pride Rock itself.

 **FLASHBACK**

Contrary to previous mornings, Beck was up first this time. Since he did not wish to wake Rafiki, the brown furred cub decided to start running on his own. Besides, a little extra practice never hurt anyone. So, he ran, and ran, and ran. He wanted to get faster, that was his goal. Running would be important in keeping up with everyone, so he cannot fail this.

He had been running for about ten minutes when he spotted a slanted tree branch that flattened out at the end, before the leaves overran it. He had an idea. It was a little something he liked to do called 'Having a Rocky moment'. He began running around the tree again, this time humming a certain tune.

Once the song was nearing its end, Beck charged for the branch, still humming.

With a solid effort, Beck managed to reach the lip of the branch and began jumping in celebration, still humming. He looked down to find Rafiki staring back at him with a small smile on his face.

"I take it you have been practicing?" Rafiki asked knowingly. Beck simply nodded in response.

"Good. Let's see if it has paid off yet, come on down and I'll time you." Rafiki offered.

"Alright. Coming down." Beck said as he ran down the branch. However, due the the momentum from running down, he ended up colliding with Rafiki's leg.

"Oof." Beck let out. Rafiki only could chuckle a little bit at the display.

The duo climbed down the tree and went to Beck's starting place.

Once Beck got himself in position, Rafiki counted down, "3...2...1...GO!" and Beck took off. He needed to make it around the trunk by the time Rafiki counted to ten.

Beck pushed himself to the limit. He heard Rafiki getting closer and closer to ten. However, about four-fifths of the way around, he heard Rafiki say ten. It was better then last time, but still not enough. The human-turned-lion finished the lap and promptly fell to his stomach, panting profusely.

"Why can't I do it?" Beck asked, exasperated and annoyed at his lack of progress.

"You are getting faster, but not fast enough. I think we might have to seek cheetah assistance soon." Rafiki said.

"How long till we come to that?" Beck asked his surrogate father.

"Maybe in two moons, if you are not fast enough." Rafiki said, "Now, come on, we don't have all day."

"Right. Let's do this." Beck said.

'I have to get faster,' Beck thought to himself, 'With what I'll have to face, I need to be fast. I can't let Mufasa down. I can't let anyone down.' Beck used that sentence as motivation to keep running. Harder and harder. Hoping to get faster after every time.

 **BACK TO THE PRESENT**

Pride Rock, the center of the Lion King universe, was just as spectacular in person as it is on screen, if not more so.

Beck had been making small talk with Kiara and Nala, not really wanting to bother Kovu, Simba, or Zazu on their way back. However, all talking stopped once the majesty of Pride Rock came upon the lions and bird.

Once they arrived at the great physical feature, Beck noticed it wasn't quite dusk yet, meaning they are in a timeskip. This gave Beck some time to go over his plan one more time in his head. However, Simba had no such plans. Oh well, guess two Outland lions in the Pridelands would cause some alarm. Although, listening to Simba speak, it made Beck realize why he was such a great thing. His combination of authority and transparency with compassion and concern. '

'Wish human government could be that easy.' Beck thought to himself. He returned attention to Simba.

"My father's law regarding saving the life of a royal dictates we owe him, and that is no different. However, he also wishes to join us, be one of us. To do that, I will have to judge him, which I have reserved for the moment to observe his true character. That is why I ask you, my subjects, to help me my eyes and ears when mine are not available. Anything happens revolving around either of them, report to me or Zazu immediately. That is all." Simba finished.

Dusk came sooner than Beck could have imagined, and the Pridelanders began to return to the den for the night. Sticking beside Kovu, Beck looked into the den, thinking about going in. Now, even though Beck knows Simba denies this, he didn't want to reveal his cards to early. True to his thoughts, when Kovu took a step towards the den, as if going in, Simba makes a low growl signifying his distaste of the arrangement and went to the den himself. Leaving Kovu and Beck to sleep in the shade of a small rock nearby.

"You gotta admit, Pride Rock is amazing, isn't it?" Beck said trying to strike up a conversation.

"Yeah, it is. It's sheer presence makes it better than the Outlands cave. But soon it'll all be theirs when we're done." Kovu muttered the third sentence softer than the first two. It was then that Kiara came up over the edge of the rock and began making her way over to us.

"Hey... uh, thanks for saving me today." Kiara thanks.

"It was no trouble. Couldn't let my childhood acquaintance or Princess of the Pridelands die." Beck replied, Kovu however, wasn't so, what's the word, gentle.

"What kind of hunter are you, anyway, Princess? You almost got yourself killed out there." Kovu said, getting up from the laying position he was in.

"What?" Kiara asked, incredulous.

"You wouldn't last three days on your own." Kovu continued.

"Geez, Kovu, lay off the girl. Sure she needs to improve, but now's not the time to go all Full Metal Jacket on her. Besides, she can go 10 days, at most." Beck said, getting up himself.

While thankful for Beck having a bit more faith in her, she still was offended.

"Oh... and I suppose you two could teach me?" Kiara asked smugly.

"I'm game." Beck agreed.

"Heh... yeah." Kovu smugly concurred and walked a little ways away from her.

"Kiara!" Simba yelled from the den.

"Coming!" Kiara replied before going in front of Kovu to cut him off.

"All right, impress me. We start at dawn." Kiara said as she makes her way to the den.

"I look forward to it." Kovu chuckled. Beck also seemed to chuckle for some reason.

"Feisty one, huh?" Beck said once Kiara was out of earshot.

"Yeah. Do you think she'll get in the way of our mission?" Kovu asked.

"Hope not. Come here, I want to be sure no one else hears this." Beck said. Kovu laid down for the night beside his friend.

"During my extended spying periods, I have noticed Simba has always gone to the watering hole for a morning drink. A majority of the time, he was alone." Beck explained.

"Alright, so how do I factor into this?" Kovu ascertained.

"You will wake up early and find a hiding spot near the watering hole. I'll stay behind and go with Simba. Hopefully he can tolerate me. Once I start drinking, that's when your oppritunity starts. You might not have much time. So try to be quick with it, alright?" Beck checked.

"Got it. Wake up early, hide near watering hole, wait for you and Simba, got it. Well, if I'm gonna wake up early, better get some shuteye. Good night." Kovu said as he settled in.

"Night, Kovu." Beck said. However, unlike Kovu, Beck did the exact opposite and rose up from his position and went out to the tip of Pride Rock, overlooking the Pridelands.

'Alright, Tomorow is when Kiara and Kovu have their alone time. So, maybe I can leave with Timon and Pumbaa to give it to them, then help Rafiki with Upendi. Yeah. That sounds reasonable.' Beck thought to himself.

The human-turned-lion yawned, 'I really need some sleep.' He decided. He gave a good long look where Zira and Nuka were hidden before going back to he and Kovu's Rock before joining Kovu in the relaxing state of sleep.

 **There we go! All done. Hope you all liked the longer chapter and the little bonus scene I added with Simba's speech. Anyway, I'm alternating story updates. I have a Pokemon story and this one that I alternate. I write and post a chapter for one than the other with dashes of Phineas and Ferb in between. So, updates for this one will depend on the updates for the other stories. So, patience is key.**

 **Time for story advertisement! So, I was browsing the archives when I found this interesting story called 'What really happened in Lion King' by Aggregate Dragon. I found out it had A very similar premise to my fic. so naturally, I read it. I was amazed at how they were able to change the perspective of the Lion King. The OC only interacts with Simba briefly, but it doesn't matter. It is a truly amazing fic. you have to read to believe. So, what are you waiting for? Go read it! That way you can have a human-turned-lion as the main character for both Lion King 1 and 2. Just make sure to keep on reviewing this story to. Let me know your thoughts so I can improve.**

 **Until next time, soma, mapito, pendwa na folow. (That's Swahili for Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow.)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello Lion King Fans! Hope you all are enjoying the story. Thank you to all the reviewers who have reviewed, you know who you are. I'm so glad that y'all are so invested in this story. It warms my heart that you eagerly await the next update. Well, here you go. This episode starts in a flashback, since watching Beck and Kovu sleep is boring. Also, we get to meet our first Lion Guard character! Enjoy!**

 **2 Days After Last Chapter's Flashback portion**

The sound of four feet slamming against the dirt kept up at a rhythmic pace as Beck is ,once again, trying to run around Rafiki's tree in roughly under 10 seconds.

"7...8...9...10, DARN IT!" Beck cries out in frustration. He had improved to the point where he could see Rafiki as he came around the tree, but he could never reach him in the allotted time frame.

Beck stopped once he reached Rafiki, panting like a dog.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm SO close, yet so far," Beck said in between pants.

Rafiki looked at Beck with a mixture of pride that Beck has improved so much, and pity that he is unable to complete the task, when he knows he is just on the precipice of success. He knew what needed to be done.

"Your statements are accurate, Beckham. I think it might be time to get professional help on the subject," Rafiki said.

"Cheetah?" Beck guessed.

The wise baboon only nodded in response.

 **FLASHFOWARD**

The morning light from behind the rock was enough to bring Beck out of his slumber. Being used to having the sun in his eyes on a daily basis, it did not bother him as much as one would think.

The first thing that Beck noticed is that, unlike the night before, Kovu was not next to him.

'Probably going to hide behind that rock already,' he thought to himself.

It was then he remembered that Simba should arise soon, if he hasn't already, after having that nightmare. He couldn't remember what it was about to the specifics, but he did know Scar morphing into Kovu was involved.

Beck took a look at the watering hole from the edge of Pride Rock, then behind him to see if Simba had left the den yet. He hasn't.

'Must be early,' Beck thought.

As such, he decided he would enjoy the visual majesty that is Pride Rock some more. He noticed how the rock below him, which losing all it's animated qualities felt and looked like real rock, still felt quite smooth, at least by rock standards. There were some little holes and ridges every now and again, but other than that, it was a pretty smooth rock.

The light grey color of the rock that shows itself when the morning light shines upon it is simply breathtaking, a sight to behold, a beautiful wonder of nature. Watching it on a screen did it no justice, Pride Rock was higher, more majestic, and more beautiful in person, or lion, than it ever was on screen.

If there was one thing that stayed relatively the same from seeing it in the movie, it's the view. Nonetheless, it was still amazing to see in person. Mufasa's 'Everything the light Touches' speech came to Beck's mind.

Before he could muse on this any further, he heard loud paw steps on the rock behind him. Beck turned his head to see Simba emerging from the den, and he was quite shaken.

'Right, the nightmare,' Beck remembered.

Simba had taken notice of one of the rogues he met the day before and decided he'd rather ignore him. Unfortunately, the Kings of the Past had other plans.

"Morning, your majesty. What's a king like yourself doing up so early?" Beck asked.

"I should be asking you the same question," Simba responded as he began walking down Pride Rock with Beck in tow.

"Well, if we're going to the same place, which I believe we are, then I'm going to get a morning drink, same as you," Beck replied. Simba raised an eyebrow at the response.

"Seems a bit coincidental, that Kovu's not around and you're following me, alone, to the watering hole. Wouldn't you say?" Simba was getting suspicious.

"Oh, Kovu, well, he once told me that his mother wanted him to grow up to be the next Scar, whoever that is," Beck knew full well who Scar was, he needed to keep up the act of not knowing to much about the Pridelands, "so, she trained him to go hunt, train, or both in the early morning. If I were Kovu, that's probably what he would be doing right now," Beck lied to the best of his ability.

Simba was to confused to give the thought any more of his time. The combination of the implications of Zira's parenting and his previous dream were hard enough.

Once Simba leaned his head down to drink from the hole, Beck knew that Kiara would surprise Kovu any second now. So, he decided to give the signal he promised him the night before. He copied Simba's actions.

After Simba was finished, Beck decided to stay behind at the watering hole after he left. He did not want to arouse Simba's suspicions anymore than he already has.

If his assumptions were correct. Kiara and Kovu will be behind the rock that was behind him to his left. So, once Simba was out of sight, he went over in that direction.

Luckily, Kiara and Kovu were just leaving.

"Hey, wait up!" He cried.

"Oh, there you are, Beck. Where were you?" Kiara asked.

"Just getting a drink with your dad," Beck replied. Once Kiara turned around, he turned to his left and saw an irritated Kovu.

"Sorry. I didn't account for her being out and about as well. We'll get him next time," Beck whispered. Kovu begrudgingly accepted Beck's apology, and continued following Kiara.

"Come on you slowpokes!"

 **FLASHBACK**

"Beckham, this is my good cheetah friend, Duma **(1)** ," Rafiki introduced.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Beckham," Duma said. The brown-eyed, spotted gold furred, tan under-bellied, adult cheetah gave Beck a warm, but analytical, look. However, being that he was brought by Rafiki, it must have meant he wouldn't mean any harm.

"Hello, Duma, it's nice to meet you, but you can call me Beck, if you wish," Beck said.

"Likewise, Beckham, I'll keep it in mind. So, what..." Duma got interrupted.

"Daddy," a young female cheetah cub approached the trio of Duma, Rafiki, and Beck.

"Not now Fuli, Daddy's talking with visitors right now. Actually, Beckham, would you care to meet my daughter, Fuli, while I talk to Rafiki?" Duma asked.

"I don't see why not," Beck replied. With that, Beck and Fuli went off, not to go to far from the adults, but just to get some space.

Fuli didn't seem all that bad. She seemed almost alike to her father barring gender, size, and eye color, her green contrasting to her father's brown. She also had a heart shaped spot on her forehead which Beck could only chalk up as some sort of birthmark.

"So, is that little thing on your forehead a birthmark or..." Beck tried to make conversation.

"Look, lion, I don't know why Rafiki brought you here, but the sooner you leave, the better," Fuli replied threateningly, before running to a nearby rock and laying there.

'Ok... That's fast, even by cheetah standards,' Beck thought. He followed the young cheetah, sitting beside her on the rock.

"Ok, ok, you don't particularly like lions, geez, didn't have to be rude about it," Beck pointed out.

"No, you think I don't like lions?" Fuli said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Have you met one, besides me?" Beck asked.

"Well, no, but I've seen enough. You lions lord over the Pridelands like it's all yours. Well, guess what? It's not. There are more animals in the Pridelands than just lions, like us cheetahs," she replied.

Just from talking with her for a minute or two, Beck could tell that Fuli was a bit of a narcissist, arrogant, and very prejudiced.

"Look Fuli, you don't have to like me, but there is one thing you should know. I'm not like them. You can't go make an assumption of a whole species based on what you've seen of a few. I mean, think about it, have I talked down to you since this conversation started?" Beck asked.

"Well, no," Fuli said.

"Exactly. Look, I respect you don't like lions. That's your opinion, and I can't change that, but you can't immediately judge a whole group from one individual. You have to give them a chance to show you who they are as an individual," Beck let that sneak in.

Fuli gave a smug smile, "Alright then Beckham. Humor me. What makes you so different?" Fuli challenged.

"Well, for one, I like cheetahs. I like all animals, not just lions. Plus, I'm not exactly from here," Beck had to make up a lie. He really wanted to have a genuine friend, at least so he knows how make friends with Kovu when the movie started up again. Also, he's a very social person, and he REALLY wanted a friend his age. Rafiki is cool, but he is really confusing sometimes.

"I just lost my pride one day. We were near a river, when a horrible storm caused it to flood. Being the idiot I was, I was near it at the time, and I got washed away. One thing lead to another and I found Rafiki, who's helped me regain my strength. Now, I just want to try and make the best of my situation. My pride has more than likely moved on, so I'll probably never see them again. I was hoping that when your dad introduced me to you, I would be able to finally have a friend, guess that won't happen," Beck said sullenly as he got up and started walked away.

'Hopefully that was dramatic enough,' Beck hoped.

"Wait..." Fuli said reluctantly.

'Jackpot,' Beck thought. He looked back.

"I'm... sorry for snapping at you," she apologized.

"It's fine. Think we can start over? Name's Beck," Beck said.

Fuli knew what he was doing, and decided to play along.

"My name is Fuli, the fastest in the Pridelands."

 **FLASHFOWARD**

"Ow...ow...ow...ow," Kiara yelps as she moves through the bushes to try and get the drop on Kovu and Beck.

However, the aforementioned yelps of pain clued the two lions in on where and when the lioness would pounce.

"Three... two...," Kovu rolled his eyes, "one...," Kovu then ducks to avoid Kiara.

"Gotcha!" the overconfident lioness shouted as she jumped over the Outlander.

Once she landed, Kovu stood over her with a disproving expression.

"You could hear me...huh?" Kiara said, embarrassed.

"Ya think?" Beck sarcastically asked from his perch on the tree in the background. It was a low hanging branch, so Beck decided he wanted to test his jumping ability a bit. He succeeded, of course, and was now laying on the branch, watching the two.

"Hey, I don't see _you_ doing anything," Kiara argued.

"Don't have to. Kovu's doing an alright job, but he's right. I was over here, and even _I_ heard you," Beck explained.

"You're still breathing too hard," Kiara refocused her attention on Kovu, "Relax...feel the earth under your paws...," Beck hopped down from and showed Kiara what Kovu meant by mimicking his actions. Kiara, seeing Beck's example, followed suit. Now, all three lions looked ready to pounce.

"...so it doesn't shift and make noise," Kovu finished.

"Ssshh. Watch the masters... and learn," Beck told Kiara as he and Kovu broke into a quiet sprint, following birds they saw fly over a hill.

The two eventually leaped over the hill, claws out and mouths as wide as a soup bowls. They skidded to a halt when they heard Timon scream, "Aaaahhhh!"

The two lions and meerkat ended up in a position where Timon was positioned in between Kovu's left and Beck's right foreleg, both staring at Timon in confusion, or, in Beck's case, mock-confusion.

"Don't eat me!" Timon cried, "Please! I... I... I never really met your tyrant. I mean, uh- Scar. Scar. Oh, heck of a guy. A little moody, but, I..." he got cut off by Kiara.

"Timon! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Kiara! Thank goodness! Ohh!" Timon said in relief, "Hey... for once, we're not following ya. This just happens to be the best smorgasbord in the Pride Lands. Bugs everywhere!" He gestured to the land behind him where possibly hundreds of birds were on the ground eating an assortment of bugs.

"But, you don't call for a reservation, and- yeesh! Get outta here, ya scavengers. Go on! Shoo! Shoo!" Timon screamed at the birds to no avail.

The meerkat goes up to one bird in particular and tries to shop it away, making the 'shoo' gesture with his arms. What did that earn him? A bite to the nose.

"Oh!... oh!... oh," Timon the red-nosed meerkat said, in pain.

Meanwhile, a short distance away, Pumbaa rushes down another hill, and back up, scattering birds, who came back to land right where they were. All this was done while Pumbaa was screaming-ish. None of the trio had any idea what sound Pumbaa was making, but one thing that Beck and Kiara knew, it was hilarious. While they chuckled, Kovu looked on in bewilderment.

The scene got even more confusing when a dozen or so birds landed on Pumbaa's back. Timon approached his panting friend.

"Ohh... Timon, I'm getting tired. I gotta lose some pounds!" Pumbaa said.

"Got that right," Beck uttered, only heard by Kiara and Kovu, who silently agreed.

Kiara, still laughing, Beck, and Kovu approached the meerkat and warthog, the birds now off Pumbaa's back thanks to Timon shooing them away.

"Hey! Maybe he can help. Ya think?" Pumbaa proposed.

"Oh! Yeah... there's an idea. Right. Let the vicious Outsider," Timon then had an epiphany, "Hey! Wait! I have an idea! What if he helps?"

"What?" Pumbaa asked, making sure he heard Timon correctly, considering he just stole his idea.

"You wanna lend a voice?" Timon asked, and while Beck knew what he was talking about, for the sake of comedy, he put on a confused facade.

"Huh? Grrr. Guh... Roar! Work with me!" Timon frustratedly said. He hated it when people didn't know what he was talking about when it seemed obvious. It was one of the reasons why he was one of Beck's favorite Lion King characters.

"Like this," Kiara said and demonstrated to Kovu and Beck by belting out a loud roar, scattering some birds.

"Wooo hoo! C'mon, do it again! Do it again!" Timon shouted on top of Pumbaa like a little kid who saw his Dad do something cool.

The second roar was actually a pair of roars from Beck and Kovu which, with help from Timon and Pumbaa, scattered some more birds.

"Yee-haw!" Timon shouted, having a grand ole time.

"Yippee-Ki-Yay, you stupid birds!" Beck shouted from Kovu's left.

"Why are we doing this? What's the point of this training?" Kovu asked the lioness running down the hill with him to his right.

"Training? This is just for fun!" Kiara laughed as she they scared off scruple of more birds due to their fast approach.

"Fun?" Kovu asked, as if he never heard the word before.

Just then, Timon and Pumbaa run by and the meerkat of the duo managed to grab one of the flying bird's legs and took a ride on it. He also said, "Ya gotta get out more often. Fun! Yeee-haa! Ha ha ha ha... Woooo-hoo!"

Once that was said, he let go of the bird's legs and fell what must have been a good 20 feet and landed right back on Pumbaa.

Kovu looked to Beck, getting the idea of fun, but still not fully.

"Kovu, sometimes you have to stop surviving, so you can start living. WHOOO!" Beck said before speeding up and catching up to Timon and Pumbaa, leaving Kovu with Kiara.

"Yeee-haa! Yeee-haaa!" Kovu shouted in glee, attempting to copy Timon.

A few minutes of chasing later, the quintet came upon a canyon-esque landscape, with walls of rock on both sides, but still not a canyon.

"Yeeeee-Haa!"

"WHOOOOO!"

"HAHAHA!"

Unfortunately for the five, the fun quickly ended when they encountered a crash **(2)** of rhinos.

"Uh oh," Kiara muttered. The birds from previously, who were now on top of the rhinos going, "thhhpppbbt!", at the group.

Then, for some reason that Beck never understood, the rhinos got REALLY angry, like, 'I'm gonna trample you,' angry.

"Shall we run for our lives?" Beck asked his four companions.

"Oh yes, let's," Pumbaa agreed before the five began running away screaming.

"WHOOOOO!" Beck was still having the time of his life. Thank you, adrenaline.

The group came upon the sharp left turn that Beck remembers where the crevice was. Once he rounded the turn, he immediately called out, "Guys! Here!", and ran into the crevice and scooted back as far as he possibly could, for less than a moment later, the rest of the group followed suit. It took no time at all for the crash to pass, and once they did, the quintet joyfully laughed like college kids who had just pulled a hilarious prank.

"What a blast!" Kovu said.

"Oh...sorry," Pumbaa apologized, misinterpreting what Kovu meant. That only elicited more laughs from everyone. Though, Beck's laugh sounded more strained than the others, considering he was in pain from being squeezed in the back of the crevice.

"You're okay, kid...," Timon complimented, giving Kovu a noogie, which caught the lion off-guard.

"Hey!" Kovu said, in protest.

"...You're okay," Timon finished. Kovu couldn't help but grin.

"Hey," Beck said getting everyone's attention, "what am I? Rotting zebra?" Beck jokingly asked.

"Heh, heh, fine, you're both okay. Better?" Timon asked.

"Much," Beck replied, still sounding pained.

"'Scuse me, Pardon me," Timon said as he and Pumbaa squeezed out from between Kiara and Kovu. Once that happened, the newly opened space created caused the two to adjust, which accidently caused their muzzles to touch. You could practically see the redness forming on their cheeks. The two just awkwardly laughed at eachother.

"Hey lovebirds," Beck said, not wanting to ruin the moment, but his pain was just getting to agonizing," hate to break up the moment, really do, but still in pain back here, you know."

"Oh, sorry, Beck." The duo said, becoming even more embarrassed to realize that Beck had seen what had just occurred.

The two did get out of the crevice though, which allowed Beck to emerge as well and be relieved of his nagging back pain from his previous position. He immediately ran to join Timon and Pumbaa while Kiara and Kovu were still laughing and staring at eachother.

'The seeds are planted,' Beck thought as he reached where Timon and Pumbaa were, farther up the pathway.

"Hey! Are you two comin' or what?" Timon asked. Once the duo indicated affirmatively by starting to make their way towards them, Beck and Pumbaa, with Timon on the warthog's back, turned around and ran ahead, while Kiara and Kovu walked behind them.

'Now they just need their alone time. I'm pretty sure Rafiki won't need me for a few more hours,' Beck thought to himself as he continued having fun with his two most favorite characters of the entire Lion King franchise.

 **Aaaaand, scene! Man, it feels good to write again. So, yes, this chapter had a bit more flashbacks, so, I compensated with more from the present. Hope you guys liked it.**

 **(1): Duma is Swahili for cheetah. If Fuli's Dad's name gets revealed sometime, though, I will change it.**

 **(2): Useless Fact of the Day: A group of rhinos is called a 'crash'. Don't believe me? Look it up.**

 **Anyway, I know I'm probably a bit rusty from being gone, sorry about that, but please review this story if at all possible. I love getting feedback on my work. Well, that's all I got. Until next time, soma, mapito, pendwa na folow. (That's Swahili for Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow.)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello Fellow Lion King Fans! It is I, FanficFan920 coming to you with a brand new chapter of Well, Hakuna Matata. If you haven't figured it out already, I am just spewing out stuff because I have no idea what to say. I guess, Thanks to all that reviewed last chapter, you know who you are. Also, a thank you to people that have followed and favorited my story as well. Just as the reviews give me reason to improve or stay consistent, you guys give me motivation to actually write these chapters to begin with. Anyway, this chapter, once again, begins in the past. Why? I want to further delve into the relationship between Beck and Fuli, sue me.**

 **WARNING: Beck's first Lion King 2 song is in this chapter. It's a lot to take in, but hopefully you guys can make heads or tails if it. If you can't, then watch a video of the song. It's called "Upendi"**

 **Also, song lyrics are in italics.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not Own The Lion King Franchise, it belongs to Disney, just like the childhoods of millions. I also don't own the song "Upendi", It was composed by** **Kevin Quinn and** **Randy Petersen, and if you're reading this fic., you already know who sings it.**

 **Anyway, let's cut to the chase and get this show on the road, shall we?**

 **Flashback**

Beck was focusing on his surrounding area about as much as a person focuses on a game of chess. In other words, he was focusing pretty hard. He noticed that his target was approaching at a blazing speed.

'I'm gonna get her this time,' Beck thought.

He crouched to the ground and prepared to pounce. He did some mental contemplation on when he should jump, due to the speed of his target.

Once his target passed a certain point, Beck jumped out of hiding as quick as he could possibly manage. Finally, after trying for about twenty minutes, Beck had pinned Fuli.

"Pinned ya," Beck bragged.

"You just got lucky," Fuli said, surprised that someone, besides her parents, had managed to catch her while she was running.

Beck just gave a smirk, "Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't," he said as he got off of the cheetah.

"Alright, I'd like to see you do it again," Fuli challenged as she crouched her legs once more.

"Challenge accepted," Beck replied.

Meanwhile, Duma and Rafiki were watching the two children's antics from a distance.

"Wow. I don't know how he did it, but Fuli is actually playing with a lion," Duma said in wonder.

"Why is that such a shock?" Rafiki asked.

"Ever since she saw some lion being a bully at the watering hole, she was convinced that all lions were bad, jerks, you get the idea. I never thought I'd see her talk to one, much less play with one, but there they are, like they were siblings," Duma explained.

"Well, that's Beckham for you. I've only known him for a relatively short amount of time, and his stubbornness and determination are comparable to that of The king at that age, the difference between them is what they use that determination to achieve," Rafiki explained.

"Indubitably. Say, you said that young Beckham wanted to improve his running speed, correct?" Duma checked.

Rafiki nodded his head in response.

"Well, based on the running expertise displayed by my daughter and the rapport the two seemed to have formed, why not let Fuli assist Beck in his speed increasing endeavors. It can allow both of them to have a much needed friendship as well as advance Beck's survival capabilities," Duka explained.

Rafiki could only chuckle.

"Why do you think I brought him here in the first place?" Rafiki answered with a question.

 **FLASHFORWARD**

Beck was making the final touches for Kiara and Kovu's journey through Upendi. He was rolling a couple rocks into the river so that the first leaf-chair wouldn't float away until the two lovebirds, or love-lions, I guess, arrive.

'Alright Beck. You've prepared your singing voice for who knows how long for this moment. Just sing good and don't mess anything up. I'm the boss. I' the boss. I'm the boss,' Beck mentally said to himself.

"Where's he taking us?" Beck heard Kovu say from his hiding place a short distance away. Might as well reveal himself now.

"To a special place in your heart..." Beck started, but got interrupted by the couple.

"Beck?"

"Hey guys, and welcome to Upendi," Beck welcomed, as he saw Rafiki come between the two lions and pushes their muzzles together.

'Alright, just go with it,' Beck reminds himself and he let himself get taken away by the music. It felt as if logic didn't matter anymore, which kind of explained the acid trip that was the "tunnel of love" thing. Soon enough Beck found himself running along the shoreline following Rafiki, Kiara and Kovu as the song started out.

 **Rafiki** : _There's a place where the crazy moon_

 _Makes the monkeys sing and the baboons swoon_

 _And the sultry scent of the lotus bloom_

 _Will carry you away_

Beck put himself in front of the swinging hippos that looked like an old science model he couldn't remember the name of and sang his first lines of the song, trying to imitate Rafiki's accent the best he could, if wasn't half bad, but didn't beat the original. He sort of sounded like if Elton John was singing in Rafiki's accent.

 **Beck** : _Where the hippos swing from the jungle vines_

 _And the rhino rhumba in a conga line_

 _And the pink flamingoes are intertwined_

 _As the stars come out to play_

Beck managed to get his tail wrapped around the tree branch to get the stars created from the falling flamingos into the sky. Then, just as swiftly, he landed on the ground and ran towards Rafiki for the chorus.

 **Rafiki and Beck** : _In Upendi_

 **Rafiki** : _Where the passionfruit grows sweet_

 _And it's so divine_

 _That you lose your mind_

 _As it sweeps you off your feet_

 **Rafiki and Beck** : _In Upendi_

 **Beck** : _Without a worry or a care_

 _It just takes two_

 _To make it true_

 _Your heart will lead you there_

Beck leaped off the small cliff next to the miniature waterfall Rafiki steered the leaf seat down and grabbed the heart shaped leaf with the hole in the middle in his mouth. He tossed it to Rafiki as if he was a dog playing frisbee, Rafiki caught the lead and placed around Kovu's neck, much to his chagrin. Luckily for Kovu's pride, the leaf came off easily.

"Where is it?" Kiara asked, referring to Upendi.

"No place you don't take with you..." Rafiki replied after he cleared out Kiara's left ear. Beck always found that a bit gross.

 **Rafiki** : _You better watch your step 'cause the path is steep_

 _Better hold your breath cause the water's deep_

Beck was dreading this part. Having to jump off the large cliff was not something he had on his Prideland to-do list, but it was a part of the song. Plus, this was practically one big acid trip anyway.

He joined Rafiki in plummeting down to assist in opening the bottom of the pitcher of water Kovu and Kiara landed in, then riding on a flying leaf, just like Rafiki was before the baboon-mandrill hybrid popped both of them sending the four plummeting into a tree.

 **Beck** : _It's a long way down over Lovers' Leap_

 _But falling's half the fun!_

While Rafiki, Kiara and Kovu landed back in a leaf seat, Beck ,once again, landed on the shore near them. He was really getting a workout during this song.

 **Rafiki and Beck** : _In Upendi_

 **Rafiki** : _Where the passionfruit grows sweet_

 _And it's so divine_

 _That you lose your mind_

 _As it sweeps you off your feet_

Beck leaped into the passionfruit tree and shook it's branches to where a few fell on to the pair of lions. Unfortunately, Kovu almost choked on one. Luckily for him, Kiara gave him a peck on the cheek which assisted him in swallowing it, for some reason. Beck just let logic take a vacation for a few minutes.

 **Rafiki and Beck** : _In Upendi_

Beck ran in front of the animals in a conga line. This frightened away some red butterflies. Rafiki also pressed Kiara and Kovu's muzzles together again.

 **Beck** : _Without a worry or a care_

 _It just takes two_

 _To make it true_

 _Your heart will take you there_

Rafiki was in a conga line of animals and was holding two things that looked like broccoli.

 **Rafiki** : _You can beat the bush like there's no tomorrow_

 _From Tanganyika to Kilimanjaro_

The scene is taken from in front of a line, to Beck in the back. Then, a mountain formed under him that grew to roughly the size and shake of Kilamanjeiro.

 **Beck** : _But you'll find Upendi wherever you are_

 _Oh underneath the sun_

Beck opened the top of the mountain, which released more red butterflies, then jumped down from the peak while bringing down an orange sky. All traces of logic were completely gone.

"Upendi- it means "love", doesn't it?" Kiara guessed.

"Welcome to Upendi!" Beck and Rafiki said together as they stood together.

 **Rafiki and Beck** : _In Upendi_

Beck and Rafiki were both handing out passionfruits to the pairs of animals that would dive into the water. Soon, Kiara and Kovu joined them.

 **Rafiki** : _Where the passionfruit grows sweet_

 _And it's so divine_

 _That you lose your mind_

 _As it sweeps you off your feet_

 **Rafiki, Beck, and Kiara** : _In Upendi_

 **Beck and Kiara** : _Without a worry or a care_

 _It just takes two_

 _To make it true_

 **Rafiki, Beck and, Kiara** : _Your heart will take you there_

After going on a roller coaster of a river, the couple found themselves flying into the air, but were slowed by a grey leaf parachute. Rafiki and Beck entered and left the shot on clouds, but then reentered a second later, each cloud with either Beck of Rafiki on it, now had a grey leaf parachute also. The parachutes of the quartet and a few other animal pairs made a heart.

 **Kiara :** _Upendi!_

 **Kiara (fades away with Beck as backup):** _Down In Upendi_

 _Way down_

 _In Upendi!_

Once everyone returned to Planet Reality again, Beck and Rafiki watched in pride as Kovu and Kiars were walking away, back to Pride Rock, the pair still softly singing the last line of the song repetitively.

Beck gave a sigh of relief.

"How'd I do?" Beck asked his surrogate father.

"You sang perfectly, mwana. Just look," Rafiki gestured to Kiara and Kovu.

Beck sighed in relief, "Listen, after tonight, there's going to be some pretty bad things that are going to happen. So, I just want to let you know in advance not to worry. That everything will turn out fine, no matter how bad it looks."

Rafiki gave a huge sigh, "Alright. Alright. I will trust you. Just be careful," Rafiki reminded.

"I always am," Beck retorted as he made his way back to Pride Rock himself.

 **CLEAR THE AREA! THIS IS A LINE BREAK!**

Beck made his way back to Pride Rock where he found Kovu and Kisra saying "Good Night," to each other. After which, Beck approached Kovu at the rock.

"Hey," Beck made his presence known.

"Hey. Thanks for the song and all that stuff you did," Kovu thanked.

"Your welcome, I saw how you two clicked. Knew I had to do something, and if it meant doing a crazy musical number, then so be it," Beck said.

It was after Beck said this that Simba approached the pair. He stared you to the sky a couple times as he said this to emphasize his point.

"It's... kinda cold tonight, huh? Come on," Simba gestured to the cave.

Kovu and Beck look at eachother in joy that they were invited into the den. However, Beck's joy was dampened when he remembered Vitani was watching this moment from a distance.

'Screw the signal. I need to talk to her,' Beck thought. He thought up the best excuse he could. Since Kovu nearly entered the den, Simba was pretty much in already, he spoke out.

"You two go on ahead, I need a quick evening drink," Beck lied.

"You think you'll be able to see okay?" Simba asked.

"I have the Great Kings to guide me," The human-turned-lion responded, eliciting a smile from Simba as he and Kovu walked into the den.

 **CLEAR THE AREA! THIS IS ANOTHER LINE BREAK!**

"What happened up there, Why didn't you two get him?!" Vitani hissed at Beck.

"Look, Tani(1), I was just following Zira's orders to let Kovu go first and last. Believe you me, I wanted him to attack Simba as much as you did," Beck explained, lying slightly.

"Why didn't you tell him to attack?" Vitani asked.

"And alert Simba who was so close you could breath on him? No thanks. I'm not giving him any advantages," Beck explained.

Vitani sighed in both relief, defeat, and frustration. She gave a friendly hug to her childhood friend.

"I knew you wouldn't let us down, but Kovu?" Vitani couldn't believe it.

"I know. Listen, go to Zira and tell her I gave you the signal to send the pride to the dead forest, mention Kovu too, she might want to know about that," Beck instructed.

"Affirmative. See you tomorrow," Vitani bid farewell.

"Night Tani," Beck said as he made his way to the watering hole to get a quick drink before making his way to Pride Rock for the night.

Meanwhile, while Zira was furious that Kovu might be betraying the Outlanders, she took solace in the fact that Beck had listened to her orders by the letter and was still on their side. It was time to gather the Pride. There was a trap that needed to be set.

 **FLASHBACK**

 **A Few Days Later**

"So, you want to learn be fast, eh?" Fuli asked. The two were near Flat Ridge Rock so that they wouldn't be disturbed, but stayed far enough away to not alert Outlanders of their presence.

"You bet I do, never know when it might come in handy," Beck replied.

"Alright then, start by practicing deep breathing," Fuli instructed.

"Got it. Wait? Deep breathing? How does that help?" Beck asked, perplexed.

"When you run, you need to breath a bit more than normal, so deep breathing can help increase the amount of air you can breath so you are able to run faster and longer," Fuli explained.

"Oh. Ok," Beck said as he took a deep breath.

 **Some Boring Minutes Later**

Beck exhaled what must have been his twentieth deep breath.

"Okay, this is boring. Can we get to actual running, now?" Beck asked.

"Fine," Fuli said, rolling her eyes at Beck's impatience, "What you want to do is, while you run, try to use your claws to help you burst forward, like this," Fuli ran circles around Beck, emphasizing her claws.

"Alright," Beck said and he got into position. Once he started sprinting, and taking a deep breath every few seconds, he did feel faster.

Once he stopped, he could feel the burn in his legs. He couldn't move another step. As such, he plopped on the grass below, panting like a canine. Fuli gave an analytical look down to the exhausted lion once she ran to him.

"Impressive... for a lion," She said with a smirk.

"Thanks," Beck wheezed, "Oh my goodness."

"What's wrong, tired?" Fuli still maintained her smirk.

"No, I just feel like panting because it sounds good," Beck sarcastically quipped.

"Well, good, you'll be doing a lot of it. Now, get in position and do it again," Fuli ordered.

"Again!?" Beck asked/yelled in surprise.

"In some situations, you may have to run after you have already exerted a lot of energy," Fuki explained. This causes a smirk to appear on Beck's face as he got an idea. A wonderful, awful idea.

"After exerting a lot of energy, huh? Like, a fight, perhaps?" Beck asked.

"I guess. That's one scenario," Fuli replied, not catching on to what Beck was planing.

"So... Like this," Beck said as he jumped on Fuli, attempting to pin her.

"Oh no you don't!" Fuli shouted as she managed to shake Beck off and speed away.

"Get back here!" Beck playfully shouted and bounded after the young cheetah.

'Well, he's running, at least,' Fuli thought to herself as Beck was falling behind, still tired from his previous sprint.

Fuli looked back to the, once again, panting lion.

"We still have a lot of work to do, though," She said to herself before running back to where the exhausted lion lay.

 **FLASHFOWARD**

Beck awoke from his slumber to find Kovu missing from the den.

'Right. That little self pep talk. Eh, might as well help him, considering what's about to happen,' Beck thought to himself as he pushed himself up and walked out to, sure enough, find Kovu talking to himself.

"... to tell her today. Oh... where do I start? "Kiara... Zira had a plot- and I was part of it. But I don't wanna be, because- it's because I love you," Beck heard Kovu say.

"Morning, Romeo," Beck made his presence known.

"Oh, morning," Kovu said before sighing, "Have you ever had a moment where you know you have to say something to someone, but you just don't know how to put it?"

Beck gave a sigh of his own, "Buddy, you have no idea," Beck said, remembering how he told the Lion Guard of his true origins, but that's another story.

"How did you do it?" Kovu asked.

"Well, it's different depending on the situation. In your case, I'd try to ease her into what you want to tell her. Remind her repeatedly that she changed you and maybe stick an 'I love you' at the end," Beck advised. This elicited a smile from Kovu, seeing the logic in that course of action.

"Thanks, Beck," Kovu thanked as he turned around to the den.

"Don't mention it," Beck replied, as he gazed at the Pridelands below. He sighed.

'Well,Beckham, here we go. The day that everything falls apart. Just play the part the best you can, and no matter what anyone says, don't let anything anyone says get to you. Not Simba, not Zira, ot Kovu, not Tani. Keeping the movie as accurate as possible is top priority,' Beck gave himself a mental prep talk in his head.

"Beck!" The human-turned lion heard his name. He turned to find Simba was the one who called it.

"You too," Simba said as well, more than likely referring to the talk about Scar.

Beck obediently followed the king's implied order and the trio walked down Pride Rock, Kiara beaming behind them.

 **ONE RECOUNTING OF THE FIRST MOVIE LATER**

The trio came to where fire had been raging not a few days prior, courtesy of Nuka and Vitani.

"Scar couldn't let go of his hate... and in the end, it destroyed him," Simba finished his tale.

"I've... never heard the story of Scar that way. He truly was a killer," Kovu realized.

"I always knew he was a bit of a jerk, but not to that extent," Beck faked disbelief.

"Fire is a killer. Sometimes, what's left behind can grow better than the generation before..." Simba said, moving some dust with his paw, uncovering a small seedling.

"...if given the chance," Simba finished.

Suddenly, a small evil chuckle permeated the surrounding dust, and emerging from that dust, were the Outlanders, many Outlanders, including Zira and Vitani.

"No... oh, no... no..." Kovu panicked, while Beck kept the straightest face he could.

"Why, Simba," Zira greeted.

"Zira," Simba returned the favor.

"What are you doing out here, and- so alone?" Zira asked as the lionesses began to encircle the trio, "Well done, you two... just like we always planned."

Simba turned on the two supposed conspirators, "You," he said, betrayed.

"No! We didn't have anything to do with this!" Kovu yelled in defense.

"Well, he didn't have anything to do with this, anyway," Beck muttered under his breath, feeling slightly guilty. He was lucky that Simba and Kovu were too preoccupied to hear him.

'If anyone dies right now, besides Nuka, it's on me,' The human-turned-lion mentally reminded himself of the stakes as he got into position to "go after Simba" until Kovu gets knocked into the rock.

"Attack!" Zira ordered.

"No!" Kovu protested as the lionesses began to charge.

 **AND SCENE! That's right, this is a cliffhanger. Sorry I have to end it like this, but it's been awhile since I've done one and there isn't a scene cut for quite awhile. Add that to a new friend of mine that REALLY loves this story and wanted another chapter, you know who you are, and I just couldn't say no to a quicker update, however, when you want something, you have to pay the price. This time, that price is a cliffhanger.**

 **(1): There's a reason why Beck says Vitani's name like that. It's one of the reasons I have the flashbacks.**

 **Swahili words:**

 **Upendi= love**

 **mwana= son**

 **Until next time, soma, mapito, pendwa na folow. (That's Swahili for Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow.)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello Fellow Lion King Fans! Well, we are now at the moment of the story where Kovu and Beck are exiled. I don't know about you, but ever since I was a kid, I've hated this part. Not because it wasn't well done. In my opinion it is one of the better scenes in the movie, but what happens to Kovu... You'll just have to read. So, let's sit back, relax, and return to the story.**

 **Also, this will come up in the chapter, so just to make sure you know.**

 **QUICK NUZZLE is the lion version of HUGGING**

 **LONG NUZZLE is the lion version of a KISS ON THE LIPS**

 **LICK is the lion version of KISSING on the cheek.**

 **Also, there will be another song in this chapter. And the lyrics have parentheses. Lyrics in parentheses mean that they are either sang after the words outside the parentheses or are sang in the background.**

 **The song is called "One of Us", and it was written by Jack Felmand, composed by Tom Snow and performed by Carmen Carter, Kenin Dorsey, Joy Diggs, Carl Graves, Ellis Hall, Gene Miller, Rick Nelson, Bobbi Page, Luis Price, Anderea Robinson, Rose Stone, Carmen Twillie, Oren Waters, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, and Terry Young. If you want to hear it rather than read it, you can find it on iTunes or on YouTube.**

 **Okay, now that that's cleared up, let's get on with this, shall we**?

Attack!" Zira ordered.

"No!" Kovu protested as the lionesses began to charge.

Beck got into a defensive stance,

'Time to put my time with Kion and the Lion Guard to good use,' he thought.

The lionesses have now reached Simba, and things proceeded exactly according to how Beck remembered it. Simba fights off multiple at once, Kovu gets knocked unconscious for a bit, and Vitani charges at Simba.

As much as Beck hated to see his childhood friend attempting murder, he needed the movie to stay as on-course as it could. Besides, he'll talk some sense into her later.

Beck stayed with Kovu while the rest of the Outlanders gave chase to Simba in the ravine. Luckily, Kovu was only knocked out for a minute, if that.

"You okay?" Beck asked, concerned.

"I'll live," Kovu responded quickly, "Come on, we have to help Simba." He got up and ran on the top of the ravine wall toward the dam made up of tree trunks.

"Kovu!" Beck called gaining his attention, "You go up, I go down. You get Simba out of there, I'll see if I can deter the others."

Kovu gave a small nod in affirmation before running off.

As for Beck, he ran into the ravine to catch up with the rest of the Outlanders. Once he had, he found Simba climbing up the log dam and the rest of the Outlanders roaring at him like dogs who can't climb a tree to get a ball.

"Simba!" Beck heard Kovu shout from the ledge above.

"Get him! Kovu! Get him! Do it now!" Zira shouted, but it fell on deaf ears as Kovu disappeared. Beck always found this scene to be one the worst, mostly due to the plot hole that is "Where's Kovu?". All that aside, Nuka began his fateful Ascension of the logs.

"I'll do it- for you, Mother!" He shouted.

"Nuka!" Beck shouted, catching said lion's attention.

"Go get'em," Beck gave a sinister, yet warm smile to the doomed lion. As much as he hung out with Vitani as a cub, Beck had spent some time with Nuka as well and gained a new appreciation for him.

Being neglected by Zira, in favor of Kovu, drove him to the shallow pit of jealousy and, in this case, desperation. It nearly brought a tear to his eye, actually.

On Nuka's end, even though he knew Beck preferred his sister over him, he was still happy that SOMEONE actually paid attention to him and what he had to say. The smile that Beck was flashing was an indication of support that Nuka was thankful to have. Even though he wanted his mother's love and support in the end, he was content that, even if he didn't get it, there would still be one lion for him to turn to and support him till the end, and that lion was Beck.

"Mother- are you watching?" Nuka shouted.

Beck could barely watch, knowing what was happening next. Before he knew it, he heard the logs crack, crumble, and finally, collapse. As soon as the last one hit, both Beck and Kovu raced towards the fallen Nuka.

"Nuka!" Beck shouted in concern, even though he knew full well Nuka would die, there was still some part of him that wanted Nuka to live, even if it meant changing the movie, but he remembered the vow he had made as a cub, that he would not change the movie, no matter his emotional ties to the characters.

Beck thought it would be easy. Just try to stay as emotionless as possible and that way, when the time comes, you don't regret what you did. Well, easier said than done.

Once again, seeing Nuka's death in the flesh as opposed to on a screen changed Beck's view. Especially considering the time he spent with a younger Nuka during his little adventures in the Outlands, but those were other stories. Point was, Beck was having many regrets, whether it was making the vow to not change the movie or spending time with Nuka in the first place, he didn't know, but one thing he knew is, he regretted knowing that this would happen YEARS in advance, but not doing anything to stop it.

He was pretty sure Kovu was going to give him some flak for supporting Nuka going after Simba after what he said to him before he left, but hopefully he will be able to explain enough so he didn't reveal anything to early.

Both Kovu and Beck reached the log pile first, Kovu closer to the ravine wall, and began to claw their way through it, looking for a brother and friend. Unfortunately, their efforts were stopped by Zira, who swatted Kovu away, but not Beck, oddly enough. Kovu backed up in slight fear as to what's happening. His brother was dead, and he was about to be blamed for it.

However, Beck wasn't focused on that now. Right now, all that mattered was Nuka.

Both Beck and Zira, in the only moment where they truly worked together towards a common goal, swung away one last log to find Nuka, coughing and gasping for air.

"Nuka," Both Beck and Zira simultaneously murmured.

"I'm sorry, Mother, Beck... I tried..." Nuka apologized, still gasping for air and coughing up a lung.

"Ssshh," Zira soothed, Beck was still too stunned to do anything, but quickly move to where he was now to the right of Zira.

"Well... I finally got your attention, didn't I..." Nuka choked out. Beck didn't remember this line from the movie. Either this line was deleted from the final product, or his memory was slipping. Nonetheless, it made the moment, and Nuka's entire arc, even more depressing than it already was.

"Didn't I...?" Nuka choked out his last words. Zira cradled Nuka's face in her paw and gave her first tender smile that Beck had ever seen, on screen or not.

"You did, Nuka, you did," Beck whispered to the dying lion.

A faint smile of pride could be seen on Nuka's face before he fell limp. Even as he did so, there was a hint of that very smile on his face. He had died happy. Beck owed him that much.

Vitani came up to the right of Beck, and also gave a whisper of, "Nuka," in disbelief.

Beck couldn't hold it in anymore. Nuka is dead and he could have stopped it, but instead he was a selfish jerk and just allowed it to happen. What kind of a sicko does this, Zira? Then it hit him. It hit him like a train going at Mach 2.

Beck had a plan, he had a plan for years to embed himself into the Outlands and Pridelands alike, so that he could live through a movie he loved, because that's what it was at the time, a movie. He wanted that plan to work to a T, and so far it has, but it resulted in Nuka, a lion he had developed a rapport with over the years, dying and it could have easily been prevented if he had just said something.

The more he thought about it, the more it became true and clear to him.

'I'm no better than Zira,' Beck realized. That is what brought the jet black lion to tears, as he shared a grieving quick nuzzle with Vitani, who, lest we forget, just lost a brother.

 **FLASHBACK**

Fuli has been looking for Beck for a while now. They had been training and improving Beck's running for ten moons now, and Beck felt ready and, dare he say, knew he was able to achieve a goal he's been striving for since he started walking, granted that was only twenty-one moons or so ago, but still.

Unfortunately, even though progress had been made, Beck was still unable to run around Rafiki's tree in ten seconds. Even with help of the self-appointed "fastest in the Pride Lands", Beck still couldn't accomplish it.

Failure after failure after putting in so much effort upon effort was taking its toll. After Rafiki had reached ten, Beck couldn't hold the tears anymore.

Not wanting to be seen in his current state, he ran off.

Fuli had decided to come watch Beck run and be there for moral support. She was even about to run after Beck before Rafiki lowered his staff and stopped the young cheetah.

"I believe he needs to have a talk with himself, before he can have any talks with others," Rafiki had explained.

Fuli took the shaman's advice and decided to lounge around the area for a bit until Beck cooled down.

A long while later, Beck had still not returned, which brings us to where we are now, with Fuli searching for the upset cub.

She eventually found a jet black figure laying upon Flat-Ridge Rock. She approached the figure with caution, as to not disturb him. Which turned it to be a bad idea.

"I can hear you, Fuli, you don't have to do that," Beck said in a monotone.

"Sorry," Fuli apologized as she abandoned her stealthy approach and simply walked to the rock, lying next to the depressed lion cub.

"So, you okay?" Fuli asked, though she knew the answer.

"Oh I'm doing just chipper. After all, I completely failed at my task even though I have been training for it for ten darn moons. Why would I not be okay about that?" Beck sarcastically replied.

"Okay, I get it," Fuli stopped Beck from going further into an anger-induced sarcastic rant.

"You've been a great teacher and friend to me these past days, but after today, I worry. What if it doesn't make any difference? I used to think doing this would be easy, but failure after failure, it seems to be becoming less and less possible, and I start to think, 'What if this is all for nothing?'. I should have done this, or could have done that, but I diddn't and look where I ended up," Beck explained.

"Beck, it's not for nothing," Fuli contested.

Beck wiped out a tear that had been falling, "What makes you say that?"

"We not only have been together as teacher and student, but also as friends. If there is anything that you should be proud of, it's to have a friend that can both teach you, motivate you, and console you, like I am now. If that is part of the things you are thinking of that's 'nothing', well, let's just say I'd be quite mad," Fuli explained.

Beck immediately looked up to deny Fuli's conjectures, "Of course not, Fuli. If I had to fail again in order to spend more time with you, than I would...," Beck got cut off.

"Don't start getting ideas, now," Fuli joked.

Beck just kept right on going, ignoring Fuli's comment, "I'm just worried we diddn't do enough before. I was so sure I would make it, then I didn't, and it's just been crushing me. What if I never do it?"

Fuli sighed, "My dad used to tell me this all the time, the past is the past, and there is nothing we can do to change what we did. The best we can do is accept it and learn from it so we can change our present and make a better future."

Beck didn't know why, but he found inspiration in those words. Fuli was right. If he didn't do what he wanted to do before, he's surely going to do it now, and then in a few more days, he will succeed. He will be fast enough.

"Thanks, Fuli, you're the best," Beck thanked and gave her a quick nuzzle.

"Of course I am," Fuli replied, as she got up, "Now, come on."

"What are we doing?" Beck asked.

Fuli turned to the lion, "I'm going to train you even harder now. We'll try new techniques we didn't do before. We'll intensify techniques we've already done. In fact, I'll probably join you. I still have to defend my title, you know," she said

Beck rolled his eyes, "Alright then, "Fastest in the Pridelands", let's do this."

The two stared at eachother for a few seconds with determined looks.

"Race you back to Rafiki's," Beck challenged before bolting away back towards Rafiki's tree.

"Hey! No fair," Fuli cries as she gave chase.

 **FLASHFOWARD**

Beck remembered what Fuli had told him many years ago.

He didn't stop Nuka from dying. He regretted it deeply, and he will for the rest of his life, but that's in the past,now. It was his decision, and he had to own up to it. There was nothing he could do about it now. He turned a blind eye to Nuka's death for years and did nothing.

'No more. No more deaths, except for Zira's, she deserves it, and even if she did, she'd never want to change,' Beck thought, his previous tears of mourning now drying up.

Beck vowed from then on that he wouldn't allow any of his friends or idols to suffer the same fate as Nuka, even if it meant suffering that fate himself.

"Scar... watch over my poor Nuka," Zira solemnly said, with Beck and Vitani still to her right, since she was facing Nuka's resting place.

'Mufasa, I know you have every right not to, but please, Nuka just had a terrible home. Please, watch over Nuka and teach him the error of his ways. It's my fault he's there, and until I can make it up to him myself, I need you to make sure he knows I'm sorry and that someday, I will make it up to him,' Beck silently said to the stars above, hopeful that Mufasa could hear.

"You!" Zira turned to Kovu, enraged, for not only failing to kill Simba, but Nuka dying as an indirect result of the aforementioned action.

Zira swatted her claws across Kovu's face, the latter letting out an, "Eeaugh!" in pain.

Beck knew what was coming next, but said nothing. Oh, he had plenty of things to say to Zira right now, but he wanted to wait.

Kovu turned in pain, but as soon as he turned his head away, he turned it back to glare at Zira. That was when it was revealed that Zira's claw to the face left a scar on his left eye, barring resemblance to Scar himself. Zira looked shocked at this, but recovered quickly.

"What have you done?" Zira asked menacingly.

"I-I-I didn't mean to... it-it-it wasn't my fault, I..." Kovu stuttered, before realizing that he didn't do anything.

"I did nothing!" He said forcefully.

Beck just sat by and watched. This was an importent moment for Kovu. He didn't want to mess it up.

Zira now walked from where Kovu had to look left at her, to where he had to look to his right.

"Exactly! And in doing so, you betrayed your pride... betrayed Scar!" Zira accused.

"I want nothing more to do with him!" Kovu shot back.

"You cannot escape it! Nuka is dead because of you!" Zira said as she walked foward, which caused Kovu to walk backwards, and trip on a rock, putting him flat on his rear.

"No," Kovu denied.

"You've killed your own brother!" Zira shouted.

"No!" Kovu shouted as he ran away from the roars of the other Outlanders.

Now was Beck's time.

"Kovu's right, you know," he said softly.

"What?!" Zira asked/shouted.

"Kovu's right! He didn't kill his own brother. You killed your own son!" He shouted, to the shock of Vitani.

"Mother loves Nuka, Beck. Why would she do it?" she asked.

"Well, think about this. Nuka went up on those logs to get YOUR attention, because YOU never paid attention to him. Ever. YOU'RE the one that did nothing. YOU'RE the reason Nuka is dead right now!" Beck explained.

Zira, blinded by rage, charged at Beck, who responded by doing the same.

The two collided, Zira swatting at Beck's face, while Beck ducked and took the opportunity to swat low, avoiding Zira's scratches and inflicting some of his own.

'Why am I even doing this? She's going to die later anyway,' Beck deduced. With Zira on her hind legs and himself on four, Beck ran into Zira, getting her on her back, then jumping off of her, claws out to leave a couple marks, and ran off after Kovu.

"Beck!" Vitani shouted after him, prompting him to turn around one last time.

"Sorry Tani, but I'm with Kovu on this. You can go and fight the Pridelanders if you want to, but I won't fight beside Zira. So, if this is goodbye, take care of yourself," Beck said before running to catch up to Kovu.

"Beck!" Vitani shouted again, but Zira stopped her from following.

"Let them go. Simba has hurt me for the last time... now he's corrupted Kovu! Listen to me... Simba is injured and weak. Now is the time to attack! We will take his entire kingdom... by force!" Zira rallied the Outlanders the best she could due to her condition. Luckily for her, it seemed to work, as Beck heard the roars of affirmation from at least a quarter mile away.

 **FLASHBACK**

 **(What follows is a Training Montage, feel free to play 'Eye of the Tiger' while reading this)**

Beck and Fuli have what look to be logs on their backs as they race. The finish line was a Rafiki's tree. Fuli wins by a lot.

"Come on, slowpoke!" She's heard saying.

* * *

Beck and Fuli do some more deep breathing, trying to inhale deeper and deeper every time.

* * *

Next, Beck is chasing a small hyrax, with the goal of pouncing on him. However, the hyrax is both figuratively and literally running circles around Beck. Fuli looks on with an analytical look, but is internally guffawing at the sight before her.

* * *

Fuli is shown explaining to Beck how to make the most of each step when he runs. She is showing how she tries to step as far as she can, without falling, so that she can cover more ground in one stride.

* * *

Beck tries the aforementioned technique, slowly at first, but he falls flat on his belly. Fuli shakes her head disapprovingly.

* * *

Some time has passed and Beck is shown catching the hyrax. Fuli smiles in pride.

* * *

Beck is now starting to run at a speedy pace, using Fuli's technique she showed him. He beans at himself and is amazed by his ability to not fall over like he has before this. Fuli jogs along side him, giving him an approving nod.

* * *

Beck and Fuli are now, once again, racing with logs on their backs, albeit bigger logs than the ones previously. Beck is shown to actually keep up with Fuli this time, and manages to cross their agreed upon finishing just 3 seconds after Fuli did.

* * *

Finally, Beck and Fuli are both racing each other with no gimmicks. Just them and the ground. Like the previously shown race, Beck is able to keep up with Fuli, but this time, with nothing holding him back, Beck was able to be head-to-head with Fuli. Once they reached the finish line, Beck actually beat Fuli by less than a second.

"YEAH!" Beck cried as he jumped in victory, while Fuli smiled in pride, not shocked he beat her. Unbeknownst to Beck, Fuli actually let him win this one, though she didn't use her full speed, she still did have to give at least a 90% effort. As far as she was concerned, Beck was the fastest lion on the planet.

"You are ready," she said.

"You really think so?" Beck asked.

"I know so," Fuli stated in confidence.

Unknown to the two friends, Rafiki was watching them from the top of his tree, having seen most of the training the two did and smiled. He had actually made the challenge because he knew Beck wouldn't be able to do it unless he had some assistance. He managed to kill two birds with one stone, Beck was now able to run fast enough to keep up with a cheetah, and also made a lifelong friend as well.

 **CLEAR THE AREA! THIS IS A LINE BREAK!**

Beck was standing ready at the base of Rafiki's tree, with Duma, Rafiki, and Fuli looking on. Beck is currently warming up his feet and breathing for what would hopefully be his final time running around Rafiki's tree.

"So, how are my daughter and Bechkam getting along?" Duma asked Rafiki.

"I've watched them play and train. They grew closer and got faster with each passing day," Rafiki responded.

"So, it's come down to if he's fast enough?" Duma checked.

"That is correct," Rafiki affirmed.

"Beck can do it, I know he can," Fuli said, just loud enough so that Beck could hear also.

Beck felt a bit warmer knowing Fuli thinks he could do it, sure she did last time, but he realized he had gotten cocky last time. Well, no more. Beck was confident he could do it, but if he did fail, then at least he could spend more time with Fuli.

"You ready, Beckham?" Rafiki called.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Beck replied as he got into a starting crouch in front of the mandrill.

"Ready," Rafiki said

'This is for Fuli,' Beck thought.

"Set."

'This is for Rafiki.'

"You can do it, Beck," Fuli encouraged.

'This is for ME.'

"GO!"

 **FLASHFOWARD**

Beck ran as fast as his slightly bleeding body could carry him.

'Kovu got quite the head start, but I should be able to catch up before he reaches Pride Rock,' Beck thought to himself.

Sure enough, he found Kovu, now at a walking pace, with Pride Rock still a mile or two away.

"Kovu!" Beck called getting his attention.

"What kept you?" Kovu said with a hint of hostility.

"Your mother. I got a bit angry and, well, look," Beck did a 360, showing Kovu is wounds from his earlier brawl with Zira.

All hints of hostility left Kovu as he understood, "Oh. She did a number on you, huh?"

"Yeah, well, I did a number on her too," Beck replied.

"Good. She deserved it."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I told off Vitani a bit too. Hopefully she'll see the error in her ways, soon. We were close as cubs, you know."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Whenever I was in the Outlands, we'd tug on tree roots to see who could break then first, raced, wrestled, all sorts of things," Beck reminisced.

An uncomfortable silence comes upon the two as Pride Rock draws closer.

"What do you think's going to happen to us?" Kovu asked.

Beck took a second to think through his answer, considering he knew what would happen.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, we'll Dave it together, 'cause friends stick together till the end," Beck said, quoting Timon.

"Thanks," Kovu thanked.

"Don't mention it," Beck replied.

Silence once again set in upon the duo as they finally arrived at Pride Rock, and animals took notice.

"It's Kovu and Beck. What're they doing here?" One cheetah.

"That's Kovu and Beck," One giraffe pointed out.

"Wow. Bravo. That's... That's some good observational skills right there. Really... Bravo," Beck sarcastically commented.

"Look at that scar... I can't believe he's here. That's Kovu?" A wildebeest said, looking at Beck.

"No, that's Beck, Kovu's the one with the scar on his face," the wildebeest next to him corrected.

"Kovu! Beck!" Kiara shouted at the top of Pride Rock.

Simba snarled and jumps forward, cutting her off, walking to the edge of the Rock.

Kovu and Beck approach down the narrow aisle between the animals.

"I never trusted them... "

"It's the Outsiders..."

"Tt's those little troublemakers..."

Beck had not always been comfortable when he heard people talking about him behind his back, so this situation was quite unnerving for him. He tried imagining Timon and Pumbaa's "let me at 'em" gag that was no doubt occurring above them right now, which helped alleviate the nerves slightly, but not totally.

"What're they doing here?..."

"They don't belong here..."

"Look at that scar on Kovu's face..."

"He looks just like Scar..."

Beck couldn't take it anymore. He turned around to where he heard the whispers and let out a loud roar, effectively shutting them up.

"Geez, didn't any of your parents ever teach you that if there's nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all?" Beck asked the animals.

When Beck's question was met with silence, he said, "Huh. Guess not," and turned back to Simba.

"Why have you come back?" Simba authoritatively asked the duo.

"Simba... We had nothing to do with-" Kovu tried to explain, but got interrupted.

"You two don't belong here," Simba said sternly.

"Please... We ask your forgiveness," Beck practically begged.

"Daddy, please... listen to him!" Kiara supported.

"Silence!" Simba said to his daughter, he had this to say to the duo below him, "When you first came here, you asked for judgment..."

"Give 'em what they deserve!" One animal shouted.

"...And I pass it now," Simba continued.

"Kick him out! That's right! Judgment day is here!" More animals chanted.

"EXILE!" Simba decided.

"No!" Kiara shouted.

"Exile them! Exile! Exile!" The animals chanted.

"No! ...Kovu! Beck!" Kiara shouted, seeing two of her friends get exiled, was really taking a toll.

 **Animals: **_Deception_

 _Disgrace_

 _Evil as plain as the scar on his face_

Beck and Kovu are forced backwards towards a small ledge by two antelopes who are showing their horns. Kovu is the first one to hop off the ledge down to the patch of rock below, but Beck stayed on a couple seconds longer, an emotionless look plastered on his face. When he was showing emotion, it was annoyance.

 **Zebras: **_Deception (An outrage!)_

 **Giraffes** : _Disgrace (For shame!)_

 **Hippo:** _They asked for trouble the moment they came_

The duo land in front of the hippo and had to dodge their way past five snakes, two of which went in to try and bite them. While Kovu looked panicked, Beck just looked slightly unnerved, he hated snakes.

 **Zebras:** _Deception (An outrage!)_

Beck and Kovu were stopped by three zebras, who threatened to crush the two under their front hooves.

 **Animals:** _(He can't change his stripes!)_

Once the Zebras returned to all fours, the duo ran past them.

 **Giraffe:** _Disgrace (For shame!)_

Once past the zebras, Beck and Kovu ran between two rows of antelopes and with each pair they pass, said pair runs into eachother, slamming their horns together.

 **Animals:** _(You know these Outsider types!)_

 **Giraffe:** _Evil as plain as the scar on his face_

After escaping the gazelles, the duo ran into a row of ostriches, all of them looked at duo in malice, while three of them attempted to ran their beaks into their fur.

 **Animals:** _(See you later, agitator!)_

 **Zebra:** _Deception (An outrage!)_

Next, some small orange monkeys began throwing rocks at the two exiled lions. Both he distrusted for a moment, Kovu looking at Pride Rock while Beck smacked some rocks away.

 **Animals:** _(Just leave us alone!)_

 **Giraffe:** _Disgrace (For shame!)_

 **Animals:** _(Traitor, go back with your own!)_

 **Hippo:** _They asked for trouble the moment they came_

Kovu, with Beck right behind him have now completely descended Pride Rock and fleeing as fast as their legs could carry them, well Kovu ran as fast as he could. It was just a morning jog to Beck, considering one of his best friends was a cheetah.

 **Animals:** _(See you later, agitator!)_

 **Animals:** _Born in grief_

 _Raised in hate_

 _Helpless to defy his fate_

As Simba looks on at the fleeing lions, some birds fly over the two and attempt to peck their beaks on the two most hated animals in the Pridelands. The two dodged.

 **Animals:** _Let him run_

 _Let him live_

 _But do not forget_

 _What we cannot forgive_

The two reached a small pool of water. Stopping there to take a look back, Kovu looked disappointed and shocked. While, Beck still had the emotionless look, trying not to key anything show.

 **Animals:** _And he is not one of us_

 _He has never been one of us_

 _He is not part of us_

Back on Pride Rock, Kiara attempted to escape her pride to go after her friends, only to be stopped by two lionesses. Simba still looked on with a stern authoritative stare.

 **Animals:** _Not our kind_

 _Someone once lied to us_

 _Now we're not so blind_

Beck remembered this is where Kovu saw Scar's reflection in the pool, even thought he couldn't see it himself. Though, when he looked down, he also saw a different lion starring back at him, or should I say, lioness.

Beck saw Zira in his reflections. This tore down his emotionless facade as he began to look scared and panicked. Just as Kovu did with his Scar rejection, Beck stepped in the Zira reflection and ran as fast as he could away from the pool, which was faster than Kovu. He waited up for the Outlander on the small rock Beck remembered from the movie.

 **Animals:** _For we knew he would do what he's done_

 _And we know that he'll never be one of us_

Kovu reached the rock, and both lions look back on the distant Pride Rock again. before walking away, side-by-side, heads down in shame.

 **Antelope :** _He is not one of us_

The duo walked away, side-by-side, heads down in shame.

 **Antelope :** _Deception_

 **Zebra :** _Disgrace_

The words still echo in Kovu's head.

 **Antelope:** _Deception_

 **Zebra:** _Disgrace_

The duo could still feel the animals glares, their attacks, Kiara's sorrow, but, most of all, Simba's cold stare that would haunt the two for a long while.

 **Antelope:** _Deception_

Not wanting to be in the area any longer, Kovu began running away as fast as he could again. Beck cought up and maintained pace with him once he realized this.

Meanwhile, behind them, Rafiki looks on at the two departing lions.

"Oohh..." He said in sorrow himself, things were not going well before. Now, their going even worse. There was only one animal that kept his hopes up though, and that was Beck.

"When do I not?", plays through Rafiki's mind like a broken record. Over the years, Rafiki has grown to trust Beck's judgement, but seeing how panicked he was, he truly hoped Beck still knew what he was doing, because if he didn't, there could be many lives at risk, including that of the King.

 **And scene!**

 **Okay, so I feel like Beck needed a bit more emotional conflict, so, I had the whole Nuka thing. In hindsight, I should have had flashbacks to Beck and Nuka's relationship, but, eh, live and learn. If you guys want to find out more about Beck and Nuka's relationship, I am happy to announce that this story is having a sequel. I don't have a title for it yet, so if you all have any ideas, I'm all ears.**

 **There will be a cliffhanger ending in the present time that will be picked up in the sequel, while the flashbacks still include Beck adjusting to Prideland life, but also his adventures with the entire Lion Guard and a young Nuka, Kovu, and Vitani, plus a bit of Father-Son bonding with Rafiki. There will be plot points in the sequel that explain some things in this fic., so if you ever felt that there wasn't any reason behind anything, it will be explained in the sequel. In fact, if there is ANYTHING in this fic. you don't understand, just Review or PM me and I'll answer your questions. However, if it involves things that will be delved into in the sequel, I will reply with, "You'll have to wait a bit for that answer."**

 **Alright, I think I've covered everything. Until next time, soma, mapito, pendwa na folow. (That's Swahili for Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow)**


	10. AN: Thoughts on Lions of the Outlands

**Hello Dear Readers,**

 **I know y'all are probably sick of my ANs by now. However, I just felt that I would share my thoughts on the newest episode of "The Lion Guard", Lions of the Outlands.**

 **I personally have looked forward to this episode ever since it was announced that Kovu, Nuka, and Vitani would be appearing in an posted of the show. What I did not expect was an announcement that Zira would also make an appearance.**

 **So, first off, I should probably address Zira's new voice actress. Her original voice actress, Suzanne Plechette passed away 8 years ago, so Nika Futterman was cast for the episode. How did she do? She actually did pretty well. Considering that this episode takes place a decade or so before Simba's Pride, it's easy to assume that Zira's voice had changed slightly between this episode and Simba's Pride.**

 **It was no Suzanne Plechette, but Flutterman did a good job trying to emulate her.**

 **As for the song of the episode, "Lions Over All", I didn't expect Zira to get the song this time, but I'm glad she did. "My Lullaby" is an amazing villain song and, in my opinion, comes slightly short of some of the best Disney villain songs out there, like "Poor Unfortunate Souls". Flutterman and Max Charles harmonize quite well together and lyrically, it's simple enough for the kiddies to understand, but is sung in such a way that adults will like it was well.**

 **So, I think, considering the show she was in, Zira was a great villain and sounded close enough to the original, but different enough to not feel like a rip-off. I sincerely hope that the show will utilize her more in the future.**

 **Now, as for Kovu, Nuka, and Vitani, considering that they were advertised to be in an episode since last year, I think the were slightly underused. I felt that their use was more for fan service than anything else.**

 **For the moments they were in the episode, they were alright. Nuka was hilarious as always, and Vitani was as snarky as ever. Andy Dick and Lacy Chabert still are able to sound like they did in Simba's Pride to some degree. Nuka sounded slightly higher, which works in this scenario, since Nuka is younger, while Vitani sounds older than the original, but it's not as noticeable as Kovu's.**

 **In my opinion, Kovu was the most underused of the three. However, seeing as how Kovu didn't get blasted away by Kion's roar, and he gave him a look before running off, foreshadows that we haven't seen the last of Kovu. Probably the biggest thing he did this episode was legitimize that the show takes place during the time skip in Simba's Pride, thus integrating it into the greater Lion King franchise in canon.**

 **As for his voice, It felt a bit weird hearing Adult Kovu's voice coming from Cub Kovu's mouth, but it's comforting to know that Marsden still remembers Kovu's voice and is still able to execute it perfectly. Plus, the voice drop can be canonically contributed to lion puberty.**

 **As for the plot, this episode looks to have simply been an introduction for the Outsiders, which leaves some hope for them to return in the future, or at least Zira and Kovu, considering that Flutterman is employed at Disney and Marsden doesn't look to be busy, unlike Andy Dick and Lacy Chabert.**

 **Considering the fact that this show is aimed for a much younger demographic than ours, it was a good episode. It incorporated some great references to previous Lion King works, such as including rising pillars of rock, like in "Be Prepared" and Zira scattering a group of bugs, like in "My Lullaby". Plus, the place that Zira and her group landed at the end has a very close resemblance to the den we find them in during Simba's Pride.**

 **Overall (pun intended), this is a great episode of "The Lion Guard", one that I hope will be expanded upon in a later episode. Perhaps making the Outsiders a once per season antagonist. On a scale of 1-10, I give this episode a 9.**

 **As for its impact on my fic., well, I will tell you that I'm not adapting the story of the episode until the sequel, but there will be some foreshadowing about it during this current fic. You guys will just have to wait and see.**

 **Now, for an update on the upcoming chapter. I feel comfortable with saying I'm roughly halfway done with it. I am currently writing a conversation between Beck and Kovu that I'm having writers block on, so we'll see what happens there.**

 **Anyway, that's all I got. You guys have a great day, and hopefully I'll see you real soon!**


	11. Chapter 9: This is a chapter, I promise

**Hello Fellow Lion King Fans!**

 **Alright. I know you all have been kept waiting for far too long, and I apologize for that. I'm going to try my best to write the best chapter I can, for all of you. You deserve that much. By the way, one of the reasons I was gone was that I wrote a One-shot crossover for this Fic! Just go to Chapter 3 of "Lion King Writing" by Aggregate Dragon and you can see Beck meet Felix/Senka from Aggregate Dragon's story, "What really happens in The Lion King". Go check it out, seriously! I put a lot of work into that. Now, to answer guest reviews.**

 **Faith (1): I'm glad you like the concept of a sequel. As for Beck's parents, I don't plan on giving them any screen time. The story isn't about them.**

 **Faith (2): Interesting idea. I think I might try to do that, but Nuka isn't really my focus on this fic. However, my flashbacks are kind of like a story all their own. Lions of the Outlands probably won't happen until the sequel, but there will be a moment in this fic. where it will be mentioned. Not this chapter though.**

 **Guest: Thank you for your concern, I'm sorry my update couln't come out sooner. Many things prevented me from writing over the past few months. Homework mostly, but I'm back now, so enjoy this chapter. As for who ends up with who, I actually don't know. I might leave up to a poll, but even then, that decision's not gonna come into play until the sequel, I think.**

 **This chapter also contains a song. It's the obligatory slow love song. It's called "Love will Find a Way". It was composed by Tom Snow, written by Jack Feldmen, and performed by Gene Miller and Liz Callaway.**

 **Anyway, let's not waste any more time.**

 **FLASHBACK**

Never in Beck's life had he ever poured so much effort into accomplishing one task. With Fuli and himself closer than ever and his confidence higher than Pride Rock, Beck had no doubt he would succeed on this attempt.

He was halfway around the trunk when Rafiki got to 4.

"Come on, Beck!" Fuli encouraged.

Beck let out a blood curdling roar as he attempted to increase his speed even more. He was three quarters of the way around the trunk when Rafiki got to 7.

"You can do it!" Beck heard Fuli shout.

Beck pushed himself to what felt like his limit, and he managed to pass Rafiki when he reached 9.

He had done it. After weeks of trying. He finally did it, and it was all thanks to Fuli.

Then Beck got an idea. An awful idea. Not slowing down, he made a u-turn and made b-line to where Fuli was standing. The unsuspecting cheetah didn't realize what was happening until it was too late.

Beck pounced on her, and they rolled like a wheel a couple times before they came to a stop, with Fuli on top of Beck.

"Dang it!" Beck said in between pants, only to get a playful smirk from Fuli.

"Nice try," Fuli smirked, as the two got up.

"Listen, Fuli, thanks so much for helping me. I couldn't have done it without you," Beck said, giving the cheetah a quick nuzzle in appreciation.

"Oh please, all of that was already in you to begin with. I just had to draw it out," Fuli replied.

Just then, Beck's stomach rumbled.

"Heheh. Sorry, guess that run took a lot out of me," Beck apologized as Rafiki walked over.

"Well, it's a good thing Duma went hunting for the both of you," Rafiki said, and as if it was on cue, Beck saw Duma walking towards them with a deceased gazelle hanging from his mouth.

Having been in the Pridelands for awhile, Beck knew he was going to see some pretty disgusting sights, by human standards.

 **FLASHBACK WITHIN A FLASHBACK**

"Alright. One other thing that can help increase your speed is to hold your head down, like this," Fuli demonstrated.

Beck copied her demonstration, "Like this?"

"Perfect. Now, let's try running like that," Fuli said.

"Alrighty then," Beck answered.

"Ready... set... go!" Fuli called as Beck shot off.

The ground became a blur of browns to Beck as he sped up. What he didn't expect, though, was a sudden appearance of a bright red and his legs swept out from under him. The entire world became a blur as Beck rolled multiple times until coming to a stop.

"Awwww," Beck let out in pain.

"Beck!" He heard Fuli shout as she ran over to check on him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Did you catch what I tripped over?" Beck asked.

"I did. A snack," Fuli said.

"Say what?"

"You heard me. Looks like we came across an antelope, a young one too, a perfect snack," Fuli explained as she walked over to where the dead antelope lay.

Beck got really nervous. He hasn't had to eat from straight out of a carcass before. Rafiki usually brought some meat or gave him some fruit, though it would be a pain on his feline teeth.

"Great, I could use something to eat," Beck lied, before getting up and walking to where Fuli was.

"Well, let's dig in then," she said lowering her head and took a large bite out of the deceased antelope.

Beck stared at it for a few moments, attempting not to puke.

'Oh geez. That is disgusting,' Beck though quickly.

In order to keep up appearances, he had to eat so, he lowered his head and took a few small bites.

'Hmmm. Tastes like chicken. At least it tastes better than it looks,' Beck thought to himself.

"Are you okay? You're barely eating,"

Fuli asked with concern.

"Eh, my head still hurts from the fall, and from spinning, but it's getting better. See," Beck lied, lowering his head to take a larger bite to prove his point, while also trying to avoid looking at the carcass below.

 **END OF FLASHBACK WITHIN A FLASHBACK**

After that day, Beck made it a point to try to eat from a carcass as many times as possible. Thank the Kings he's used to it now, or else he'd have a big problem on his hands.

"Thanks, Duma," Beck thanked as he trudged toward the adult cheetah.

 **FLASHFOWARD**

Things couldn't get any worse for Kiara right about now, her best male friend and her crush were both exiled in one fell swoop because of something that wasn't even their fault. She approached her father, staring off into the distance from the promontory of Pride Rock.

"Father, please reconsider," Kiara pleaded.

"You will not go anywhere without an escort from now on," Simba decreed, not even looking his daughter in the eyes.

"No! That's not..." Kiara objected, but was cut off.

"They used you to get to me!" Simba retorted, still under the misconception that Kovu, Beck, and Zira were the masterminds behind the attempt on his life earlier.

"No! They love me, ... for me! Granted, in different ways," Kiara continued to try and reason with the king.

"Regardless of how, they only loved you because you are my daughter!" Simba finally faced his daughter, "You will not leave Pride Rock. You will stay where I can keep an eye on you... away from them."

"You don't even know them!" Kiara countered.

"I know they're following in Scar's pawprints..." Simba turned again to face his kingdom, "... and I must follow in my father's."

"You will never be Mufasa," Kiara shouted.

This statement had a clear effect on Simba, but he remained silent.

Finally, all the pressures and the heartbreak of the past few hours had taken its toll, as Kiara finally broke down. She ran into the den, sobbing, to avoid being seen by the rest of the pride.

As she lied down on a slab of rock resembling the mattress of a bed, sobbing harder than before, she noticed a small beam of light originating from a small hole between two rocks on the den.

Determined, she pushes her way through the loose rock and finds herself outside. She quickly makes her way down the rock structure and bound off into the twighlight in search of Kovu and Beck.

Speaking of the aforementioned duo, they were laying in a grassy field outside of Pride Rock's field of vision, resting after all the running and emotional turmoil they just endured.

"You know you're not like Scar, right?" Beck tried to remain optimistic, despite his emotional baggage.

There was silence for a moment while Kovu gathered his thoughts.

"Maybe I'm not, but it doesn't excuse the fact I nearly got Simba killed," Kovu replied.

"It's not your fault, Kovu, you didn't know that Zira would ambush us. Unlike me with Nuka," Beck muttered the last part under his breath.

"Doesn't excuse the fact that I didn't warn him about her in the first place," Kovu countered.

Beck sighed, "Look Kovu, If you think that everything that happens today is your fault, I can't stop you, but you can't mope about it all day. We all have our problems, but sometimes in life you just have to get up and deal with them," Beck said.

"Alright then, if that's the case, what's your problem then?" Kovu asked.

That question caught Beck a bit off guard. Should he tell him? They were "off-screen" right now.

"Alright, well, you know how you feel like you're just like Scar?" Beck asked.

"Yes?" Kovu asked expectantly.

"Well, I felt like I was becoming Zira," Beck revealed.

An awkward moment of silence passed between the two.

"What?" Kovu finally asked.

'Great, now I need to think of an excuse that doesn't involve me being human,' Beck thought. He had decided long ago that he wanted to put off telling anyone about his true origins for as long as possible. He remembered how long it took to explain it to Kion and the Guard. He may have been younger and stupider at the time, but Bunga couldn't keep a secret to save his life, but that's another story for another time.(1)

"While I was growing up with Rafiki, I learned a few of his tricks. One of which involved the ability to see the future. One time, I saw Nuka's death in one of the visions. I went to Rafiki, telling him that we had to save him, but Rafiki said that the Kings of the Past always get their wishes, one way or another," Beck turned away from Kovu slightly, trying to sell his half-truth.

"Of course, I was a cub at the time, so I didn't understand that part, but I reluctantly promised to not save Nuka. A promise I wrestled with keeping it and not keeping it for a long time. So, like Zira, I planned for everything to run its course. I knew Nuka was going to die, and I just stood by and let it happen. I could have done something. I should have done something," A tear fell down Beck's face.

Kovu let a silent pause permeate the air as he processed what Beck had just told him, "Beck, it's not your fault. Nuka was dead set on Simba. Nothing would have stopped him, not even you. He would have died whether you would have interfered or not."

"And how is that supposed to do me any good?" Beck asked.

"It's just like you said, you can't mope all day. You have to just deal with it and move on," Kovu said, smiling.

Beck turned back around to face Kovu, proud of his friend using his piece of advice he had given him seconds earlier on himself.

"Thanks, Kovu," Beck thanked, "I needed that."

"What are friends for?" Kovu replied, still smiling.

"We should probably get moving," Beck said, getting back up on all fours at the exact same time Kovu did the same.

"Lead the way," Kovu said sarcastically, earning a small chuckle from Beck as the two walked together through the twilight.

 **FLASHBACK**

The passed gazelle already had a hole in it's underbelly similar to the one Han Solo cut into a tauntaun on Hoth. Duma, Fuli and Beck began picking pieces of meaty innards that would serve as their meal, Rafiki elected not to join them, even though he was an omnivore, he preferred to eat his fruit around this time of day.

"So, Beck, do they have gazelles like this where you come from?" Full asked as she bit away at a piece of bloody meat.

"Not really," Beck said as he took a bite as well, "there's actually a lot of smaller mammals where I'm from, though there is the occasional reptile. Nothing too big, but enough to fill me up."

"Where is that exactly?" Duma asked.

"It's close to a large swamp land we called the Everglades, but it's a long way from here," Beck said wistfully as he took another bite.

"Do you miss it?" Full asked.

"Every day, but I don't regret settling down here. I love the Pride Lands. I have you, Rafiki, and I actually ran into Princess Kiara a while back. This place is actually starting to feel like home now. So, I think things turned out alright," Beck answered earnestly.

"Glad to hear that," Fuli replied.

Meanwhile, Duma listened to their conversation with attentive ears. Both Beck and Fuli overcame great obstacles in their lives, Beck was injured and taken from his home at a young age, and Fuli was so prejudiced about lions that it threatened to consume her, but when they entered each others lives, everything changed. Now, the Pride Lands was becoming Beck's new home, and Fuli is looking happier and happier with each passing day. Granted, she still had a bit of temper and a short fuse, but it was progress. They both brought out the best in one another, and that's what best friends should do.

 **BACK TO THE PRESENT**

"Do you really think she'll find me?" Koru asked Beck as night quickly set in.

"Well, in all likelihood, we have a higher chance of finding her," Beck explained.

"What makes you think she was even able to escape, and even if she did, what if Simba comes looking?"

"Please, it'll take more than her dad, Zuri and Tiifu to stop her. Now stop worrying so much, okay? I have never seen 2 animals more meant for each other than you two," Beck admitted.

"Really? Even if it's wrong?"

"It's not wrong. Love... love is something that never dies, but it's also something you need to accept. Plus, even if Simba does come looking, I've got you guy's backs. If he wants to get to you, he's gotta go through me. What you guys have is something I don't want to end on my watch," Beck said.

When Beck turned ahead of him once more, he noticed a light brown figure sitting on a sandy hill.

'Bingo,' Beck mentally said.

"Hey, lover boy," Beck got Kovu's attention. When he looked up at him, he motioned for him to look ahead, and there was Kiara, laying in the sand.

"Go get her," Beck said as he left the two alone.

 **(This Song is not ACTUALLY sung. It's just in both their heads. Also, I picked it up at Kovu's part. Deal with it.)**

 **Kovu** : _I was so afraid, now I realize Love is never wrong And so it never dies_

Kovu thought about what Beck had said. He realized that he was right. If he wanted to be with Kiara and Kiara wanted to be with him, than who else could object? This notion brought a smile to the Outlander's face and he decided to make his approach.

 _There's a perfect world Shining in your eyes_

Finally having noticed Kovu coming from behind her, Kiara turned around to find the lion she had been so desperately searching for all evening. Finally finding him brought a look of, first, joy, and then, a living gaze signifying, if it wasn't obvious already, that she harbored some romantic feelings towards him.

 **Kiara and Kovu:** _And if only they could feel it too The happiness I feel with you_

 _They'd know love will find a way_

The two love-sick felines ran to each other and had a grand long nuzzle (It's the human equivalent of a long hug or a kiss, depends).

 _Anywhere we go_

Kiara surprised Kovu by turning around and giving him a lick on the cheek.

 _We're home if we are there together_

In a moment of some nostalgic childhood immaturity, Kiara ran away from Kovu, as if they were playing tag. After kicking some sand up into Kovu's face, however, the duo settled for just sitting on a small sand dune.

 _Like dark, turning into day_

 _Somehow we'll come through_

 _Now that I've found you_

 _Love will find a way_

 _I know love will find a way_

As the couple lovingly nuzzled each other once more, the wind began picking up and displacing the sand they had once sat on, revealing grass.

A couple of butterflies flew past the couple, gaining Kovu's fascination. Following them with a joyous laugh, Kiara chased a fleeing Kovu down toward the pond. Kiara managed to pin him, however. Though, one could say Kovu let her do it.

"Hey, look... we are one," Kovu remarked, looking at his and Kiara's combined reflection in the pond.

At first, Kiara smiled at hearing this, but it then lead her to a shocking revelation.

"What?" Kiara asked, checking to make sure Kovu said what she thought he said.

"Let's get outta here. We'll run away together! And start a pride... all our own," Kovu said, suggestively raising and wiggling his posterior.

"As interesting as that may be," Beck drily said, laying on a low-lying tree branch above the couple, shocking Kiara and Kovu. "We still have the situation of your family's and their followers about to go kill each other."

"Beck's right Kovu. We have to go back," Kiara agreed, nuzzling Kovu quickly, as Beck dropped down beside the couple.

"You're kidding. But we're finally together!" Kovu objected, slightly in shock that Kiara wished to return, despite everything.

"Standing right here," Beck commented.

"Right, sorry," Kovu apologized, having forgot Beck was there.

"Our place is with our pride. If we run away, they'll be divided forever," Kiara explained.

Kovu looked down in contemplation. After a few seconds of internal deliberation, he looked up to his best friend and his mate.

"Alright. Let's go."

 **AAAND Scene! FINALLY, this took FOREVER to write, but by golly, I did it. I hope you all like it! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter in the reviews, as they are my primary way to get comments from readers, though I do like it when people PM me as well. This chapter is the penultimate chapter in this story with the use of flashbacks, as I feel Duma's "inner monologue" seems like the perfect end to the story the flashbacks were telling, A stogry of a budding friendship and of adjustment.**

 **Flashbacks will be taking a back seat, for now, as we hit the climax of the storyline in the present. Next chapter will be a bit shorter and it will focus on the other characters in Simba's Pride that haven't gotten a lot of love in this fic. such as Timon and Pumbaa, Zira and Vitani, who haven't had to many appearances as of late. Now, it's not to say our main trio won't appear, but it will be in a more limited capacity.**

 **Anyway, I think that's all I have. I hope you all are enjoying this fic. and I'll see you guys next time! Don't forget to soma, mapito, pendwa na folow. (That's Swahili for Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow).**


	12. Chapter 10

**Hello Fellow Lion King Fans!**

 **So, here I am with another chapter. Sorry I've been absent for so long again. I just got a job recently, so combine that with school and life, it's just been a storm of organized chaos. However, Spring Break has arrived as I'm writing this, so I figured I'd be able to get a couple updates out before I can REALLY get started with more updates over the summer.**

 **Also, for people that enjoy the show Steven Universe , I have wonderful news. I have a new Fic. out! I am working with a couple author friends on a spin-off fic. It's called Omega Origins**

 **and it's a spin-off of Feraligreater328's Connie and the B-Team. I actually have an OC in the Fic. called "Citrine." So, if any of you readers like Steven Universe or Connie and the B-Team, come check out the latest addition to my fanfic. arsenal.**

 **Alright, now that I have that promotion out of the way, on to Guest Reviews.**

 **Guest: Well, here you go.**

 **Faith: Yes, I am doing a sequel to this fic. No idea what it will be called, suggestions are welcome. I already have a basic premise in mind and I will be teasing it at the end of this one.**

 **Okay, so without without further adieu, let's get this started.**

While our main trio were still en route back to the Pridelands, war was beginning to brew. Zira was making her strike, very very slowly.

Without an ounce of hesitation, the Outsider lionesses waded their way through the muddy water and began scouring the Pridelands. Once Simba was spotted, they would do battle. The sound of thunder echoed as the Outlanders marched on.

Meanwhile, back at Pride Rock, where it has begun raining, Timon and Pumbaa were playing a game we like to call The Blame Game.

"I can't believe we lost her again. This is the eight thousandth time!" Timon moaned then turned around to face Pumba.

"Ooh!" Said warthog cried in shame.

"I thought you were gonna watch her!" The meerkat angrily pontificated.

"Me? You were gonna watch her!" Pumbaa fired back as Timon walked behind him, eliciting the warthog to turn around in order to face him.

"I thought you were gonna watch her!"

"No, you were gonna watch her!"

"You were gonna watch her!"

"Aah, watch this!" Pumbaa cried as he leaped onto the meerkat with his own no doubt heavy frame.

"Oww!" Timon cried out in pain, but, in response, he jumped on top of the warthog he just pushed over onto its back and began pulling on its skin, "Take that, you creepy warthog! Say it! Say it!"

"Fat! Fat! Fatty fat fat!" Pumbaa screamed.

The warthog and meerkat were outright wrestling when a wet Simba walked in.

"What are you doing?" Simba asked, causing the fighting duo to leap to attention, even eliciting a surprised scream from Timon as he fell to the ground.

"Good question! Now let me ask one," Timon countered as he got himself up.

"Hippo-thetically..." Pumbaa said, making a pun that the writers wrongly thought of as clever and funny.

"Very hypo-thetical," Timon corrected as he got up on top of Pumbaa's snout, "...there's this guy..."

"But he's not a lion..." The warthog futilely tried to cover up their mistake.

"No! No, he's not a lion... yeesh," Timon backtracked, earning an amused look from Simba, "Definitely not a lion. And, uh... uh... his daughter, um, say... vanished."

"Kiara is gone?" Simba with a mix of concern and anger.

Before Simba could expand on the topic however, Zazu flew into the den, not even taking the time to land.

"Sire! The Outsiders are on the attack... heading this way! It's war!" The bird reported.

"Zazu! Find Kiara!" The bird flew away upon hearing his instructions, "We'll assemble the lionesses. Move! Now!"

And move they did. In almost no time at all, the prides met on the field of battle, a piece of barren land located near a canyon, which had a river at the bottom of it.

The storm that had begun earlier had grown in ferocity, as if mirroring the chaos and ferocity of the conflict playing out on the surface. The falling rain caused Simba's mane to become the equivalent of a wet mop.

The two opponents stared each other down.

This mere act of simply staring at each other immediately caught the eyes of the surrounding fauna. While buzzards flew overhead to dispose of casualties, any other animals, including giraffes, zebras, etc., in the area got the heck out of there, not wishing to be collateral damage to the fight that was about to ensue.

Not that far away, our main trio, Beck, Kiara, and Kovu, despite the downpour were running until their legs fell off to attempt to stop the conflict between the prides before anything bad happened. Beck was just ahead of the two young lovers.

'Time to fulfill the purpose that the Kings assigned to me,' Beck said to himself as he ran, 'No pressure.'

"Come on, we're almost there!" Beck said to his companions (or was he a companion to them?), seeing as how they were able to see the standoff from the other side of the aforementioned canyon.

Back at the battlefield, the standoff continued, it was a moment of cinematic brilliance and beauty... until Timon and Pumbaa ruined it.

"Nah nah nah nah nah nah!" The duo taunted the Outsiders as they looked them.

"It's over, Simba! I have dreamed of nothing else for years!" Zira maliciously growled, mud dropping from her face.

"Boy... does she need a hobby." Timon drily commented.

"Last chance, Zira: Go home," Simba attempted to make peace one last time.

"I am home!" Zira declared, not having any of Simba's plea. The rumbling thunder and the blinding lightning only made the lead Outsider looked more deranged when she uttered a word that basically said, 'there's no going back.'

"Attack!" Zira joyously ordered.

The two sides let out savage roars before walking towards each other, which then picked up into a jog, and finally turned into a full blown run.

At last, the warring factions collided in a flurry of swipes and bites. Lionesses were being scratched across the eyes and being bitten in the midsection of the spine.

Zira coached her underlings from a rock above the fray, giving her a bird's eye view of everything.

"Go for the eyes!" An Outsider did so with one swipe of a claw.

"Break his jaw!" Another Outsider did so.

"Hit him low!" Another Outsider sprung up and tackled another lioness from below.

"Get them! Do what you must!" The sadist lioness yelled as the fighting continued.

A short distance away, our main trio have reached the edge of the canyon opposite of the one the fight is taking place. Koch and Kiara look on in worry while Beck look at it with a determined unwavering stare. Not wasting another moment, Beck took off full speed ahead with the two young mates in tow.

Back at the battle, things were not looking good for our favorite meerkat and warthog dynamic duo.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Pumba asked as they hid behind a rock.

"There's only one thing we can do, Pumbaa: 'When the going gets tough,'" He pounded his fist into his hand for emphasis, "'...the tough get going.' That's our motto!"

"I thought our motto was 'Hakuna Matata'?" Pumba pointed out.

"Pumbaa, stop living in the past! We need a new motto!" Timon insisted.

With that in mind, the duo ran in to join the fray as menacingly as they could, which wasn't much. They would immediately regret this decision when a lioness roared right at them. This elicited a scream and retreat from the cowardly twosome.

"Like I said: Let's get going!" The meerkat screamed as they left.

Beck, Kiara, and Kovu have almost made it to the scene, having traversed across several fallen logs. In his rush, however, Kovu nearly slipped and fell into the raging river below. Luckily, the Lion caught himself on one of the logs and caught up with Beck and Kiara.

Unknown to them, the logs began to shift.

Back to the battle, Vitani was finally entering the fray, as she appeared on a rock and spotted Nala below her.

"Where's your pretty daughter, Nala?" Vitani mocked.

"Vitani!" Nala growled.

The younger lioness leapt from her Ricky perch and began her fierce brawl with the Queen of the Pridelands.

Meanwhile, Timon and Pumbaa were dealing with issues of their own. A number of Outsiders had heard their frightened screams from before and began to give chase. The duo ended up running into a wall, a virtual corner. They were surrounded. Expecting the worst, Pumbaa turned around, put his face to the wall, and covered his eyes.

Timon was looking around in a panicked thought process that was trying to find something, anything, that would aid in him and Pumbaa's survival. Finally, Timon laid eyes on Pumbaa's raised butt. He had an idea. The meerkat hopped up onto Pumbaa, took his tail, and cocked it like a machine gun.

"Don't anybody move! This thing's loaded," the meerkat threatened, holding Pumbaa's tail like it was a firearm. "I'll let you have it!"

The bluff had its desired effect and all the lioness shrieked at the thought of being farted on and immediately fled over the horizon.

"Yeah! Yeah... talk about your winds of war!" Timon quipped, chuckling.

Back on the main battlefield, Zira was evil laughing it up like The Joker as she saw the battle turning in her favor. These thoughts were proven by the fact that many lionesses had managed to surround Simba, pelting him with lunge after lunge, bite after bite.

So far, The King has managed to hold them off, and Zira doesn't like that one bit.

"Simba...," Zira said forebodingly as she, and two other lionesses, jumped down from the rock she had been standing on since the battle began and menacingly made her way towards Simba. "...you're mine!"

The lionesses that had clustered around The King earlier parted to make room for Zira. This fight would just be the two of them, one on one, mono y mono.

The battle stalled as the two leaders circled one another. All who had fought around them ceased as they laid eyes on their leaders, who had locked eyes.

Zira had a smile on her face that made her look like the Chestire Cat if he were a lion, while Simba looked with narrowed eyes, ready to defend his home, or die trying.

The two raised paws, both ready to rip the other to shreds.

However, lightening struck, and with it, three growls were heard. Simba looked to his left and found Beck, Kiara, Kovu jumping in the middle of the battle. Kovu faced his mother, Kiara faced her father, and Beck turned to Vitani. The three looked like they meant business.

"Kiara?" Simba said in confusion, wondering why his daughter doing something this bold, but he was only met with a stare a mother Lion would scold her cub with.

"Kovu!" Zira shouted. Said lion narrowed his eyes at the mention of his name, "Move."

Kovu stood his ground.

"Beck?," Vitani questioned, but unlike the others, Beck actually spoke.

"Hey Vitani."

 **Oh, Beck. Always one to speak when no one else will. Anyway, hope you like the cliffhanger, sort of. Next chapter is going to be the last one of this story. There will be a flashback as well, and I think all the Lion Guard fans reading that will get pretty excited, *wink wink*.**

 **Please let me know what you thought of this chapter in the reviews, as they are my primary way to get comments from readers, though I do like it when people PM me as well.**

 **Anyway, that's all I have. I hope you all are enjoying this fic. and I'll see you guys next time! Don't forget to soma, mapito, pendwa na folow. (That's Swahili for Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow).**


	13. The Final Chapter

**Well, here it is. The final Chapter of Well, Hakuna Matata. It's been a great ride. Most of what I want to say is in the ending AN, so I'll just wait till then. (MAKE SURE YOU READ IT, IT IS IMPORTANT) Anyway, I know you all are probably antsy to see how the last cliffhanger turned out, so, here ya go.**

* * *

 _Previously on "Well, Hakuna Mattata"..._

* * *

 _The battle stalled as the two leaders circled one another. All who had fought around them ceased as they laid eyes on their leaders, who had locked eyes._

 _Zira had a smile on her face that made her look like the Chestire Cat if he were a lion, while Simba looked with narrowed eyes, ready to defend his home, or die trying._

 _The two raised paws, both ready to rip the other to shreds._

 _However, lightening struck, and with it, three growls were heard. Simba looked to his left and found Beck, Kiara, Kovu jumping in the middle of the battle. Kovu faced his mother, Kiara faced her father, and Beck turned to Vitani. The three looked like they meant business._

 _"Kiara?" Simba said in confusion, wondering why his daughter doing something this bold, but he was only met with a stare a mother Lion would scold her cub with._

 _"Kovu!" Zira shouted. Said lion narrowed his eyes at the mention of his name, "Move."_

 _Kovu stood his ground._

 _"Beck?," Vitani questioned, but unlike the others, Beck actually spoke._

 _"Hey Vitani."_

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Probably one of the more annoying things that Beck discovered about living in the Pride Lands is that nine out of ten times the sun would be in his eyes when he woke up in the morning. Unfortunately, this is one of those times.

The human-turned-lion grunted as he got himself up.

He noticed Rafiki sitting on one of his trees branches, observing Pride Rock from a distance, as if expecting something, or someone.

"Morning, Rafiki," Beck greeted as he got up on all fours.

"Morning to you, Beckham," Rafiki responded.

Beck sighed, "Are you ever going to call me Beck?"

Rafiki turned around, "Who's to say?" he answered vaguely. This only elicited an eye roll from Beck as he went to get some breakfast from the meat stash Rafiki had stored for him made from leftovers of the previous day's meal with Duma and Fuli.

Just as Beck was finishing his breakfast, he heard a tap of something hitting the trunk of the tree. Right as he heard it, Rafiki suddenly swung out from behind a branch, looking at what was below. Beck ran to Rafiki's left side to get a look as well.

His face contorted into a curious expression when he saw a honey badger holding some type of fruit being chased by a golden furred lion through the savannah grass.

Beck could have sworn the cub looked like a younger Mufasa.

"What's going on?"

"They, Beckham, are an important part of the immediate future of the Pride Lands. The time is near, I can feel it," Rafiki said.

Beck could only look at the mandrill-baboon hybrid in confusion.

 **FLASHFOWARD**

"Stand aside," Simba ordered his daughter.

"Daddy, this has to stop," Kiara pleaded, though Simba seemed to be having none of it.

"Beck, what are you doing here?" Vitani said, half worried and half angered.

"Sorry, 'Tani, but as your friend, I cannot allow to fight in such a meaningless battle," Beck said.

"Why is that?!" Vitani asked, getting more and more frustrated by the second.

"Because I care about you, okay!" Beck said. He hated getting all sentimental. Though, Vitani seemed to be caught off guard by the statement.

"Ever since the Guard left, you, Nuka, and Rafiki were all I had, I already lost one of those mammals. I can't lose another, especially like this," Beck revealed. This left Vitani in a bit of a stupor.

"You're even weaker than I thought," Zoe's said, belittling Kovu. "Get out of the way!"

"You'll never hurt Kiara... or Simba. Not while I'm here," Koch retorted, lowering his head, should the need arise to fight back.

Zira gasped, eyes widened. Beck caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye.

'Well, good luck sleeping after seeing _that_ face,' he thought.

"Stay out of this!" Simba tried to order, rainwater still trickling through his mane.

"A wise King once told me, 'We are one.' I didn't understand what he meant... now I do," Kiara explained.

"But... they..." The king stammered, a very rare occurrence, actually.

"Them... us. Look at them... they are us. What differences do you see?" Kiara asked, causing her father to take a look at both the Pride Landers and the outsiders.

This comment had brought Vitani out of her stupor from earlier.

The two sides simply stared at one another, and then to their fellow members of their pride, realizing that Kiara had a point.

Once Simba looked back at Kiara, realizing the accuracy about what she said, he was swarmed by a sense of guilt for not realizing it sooner, but mostly, he was proud of his daughter. She and her compatriots were able to make BOTH prides see the error in their ways. A prideful smile made it's way onto his face.

The rain stopped, and the clouds are beginning to part. Inklings of sunshine now shine on the rain soaked lions and battlefield.

Just as that happens, the royal father and daughter shared a nuzzle, one equivalent of a long hug, in human terms.

Beck saw this out of the corner of his eye, a small smile on his face, before turning back to Vitani.

"Vitani... now!" Zira ordered her only daughter, having none of the sentiment.

She hesitated, looking at Beck.

"Please..." he whispered, no, pleaded.

She turned back to her mother. She made her choice.

"No, Mother!" Vitani refused, before taking a second to explain her reasoning. "Kiara's right."

Beck smiled in pride, not as much as Simba, but a smile nonetheless.

The daughter of Zira made her way over towards Beck, positioning herself to his right before turning around and facing Zira.

"Enough," she said, causing the other Outsiders look at each other in slight shock.

Zira's eyes narrowed. "If you will not fight," she said madly, "then you will die as well.

The way which she said that caused a wave of discomfort to course through Beck.

'She's already to far off the deep end,' he said to himself.

It seemed that the other Outsiders had also caught on, not only to Beck's thought, but to Kiara's question as well. Giving a look of silent to scorn to Zira, all the other Outsiders began to copy Vitani's action.

This, of course, caused Zira to panic. Her eyes widened in a combination of just that, panic, and anger.

"Wh-wha... Where are you going? Get back here!" She attempted to order, even though it fell on deaf ears.

"Let it go, Zira," Simba attempted to dissuade.

'...and _don't hold it back anymore_ ,' Beck silently thought to himself, silently snickering at his own reference.

"It's time to put the past behind us." Simba said.

"I'll never let it go!" Zira yelled.

'Somebody has some anger management issues,' Beck thought, wondering how long it took him to realize that.

More logs pile up in the river, forming a dam. The sound of this caused Simba to become distracted for a split second. That was all Zira needed.

"This is for you, Scar!" She yelled.

She leapt at Simba, a murderous glint in her eyes. Kiara looked ready to catch her mid-flight, but Beck had other plans.

"Not gonna happen," Beck said as he leapt and caught Zira first, causing Kiara to, slightly embarrassingly, fall to the ground, grabbing nothing but air.

The force of Beck's collision with Zira caused the two to tumble down the embankment.

'Oh [BLEEP],' Beck thought to himself, realizing what he just did.

If they couldn't catch themselves quickly, it would be certain doom.

 **FLASHBACK (Seems like an appropriate time for one, don't you think?)**

Today, Beck had decided, would be the day that he tried to find the Outsider Pride. He already had it planned out.

He would head to the Outsider Den and try to make friends with Vitani, the child of Zira that made the least impact on Lion King 2, and brag about how he's been spying on Pride Land activity. This way, he can become an asset and be sent with Kovu on his mission to kill Simba. It was foolproof.

Beck had already approached the border to the Outlands when he noticed some commotion playing out several yards to his left. It was the same golden furred cub earlier in the day, and he seemed a bit distressed.

'Wonder if it has anything to do with that honey badger?' Beck thought to himself.

"Hyenas! Put Bunga down!" Beck heard the cub yell. "Pick on somebody your own size!"

'So the honey badger's name is Bunga, eh? Wait, did he say hyenas? Uh oh.'

Beck started making his way over the cub to see if he needed any assistance.

"Let him go! You hyenas don't want any trouble with my dad!" The cub yelled.

'Wait, his Dad? Who's his Dad? There aren't any other male lions in the Pride Lands except... wait a second... how is that possible? Where was he in the second movie? Why haven't I heard about a brother?' Beck thought to himself, now hesitating to approach. Though, the distressed look on the cubs face made him push those thoughts to the side for now.

'Well, he wasn't in the second movie, so I guess I won't be altering things to much if I talked to him,' Beck reasoned, as he continued.

"What's the issue?" Beck asked the golden cub.

"My friend, Bunga, is trapped down there with two hyenas," the cub briefly explained.

"All right, yeah. Fun's over. Janja needs his lunch," the hyena that didn't have the honey badger in his mouth said.

"Lunch?" The honey badger squeezed in fear.

This seemed to hit a nerve in the golden furred lion.

'Is it just me or is it becoming overcast?'

"No! Let him GOOOOOOOOO!" The golden furred cub let out a roar that could rival Steven Tyler.

The roar was so powerful that Beck had actually heard the wind it generated.

'Good thing I'm not on the receiving end of that,' Beck thought to himself.

The roar had shocked the hyenas into such a stupor that they remained unaware that Bunga had managed to escape.

"Heyvi kabisa! What was that?" The golden furred cub asked himself.

"Zuka Zama! Kion, how'd you roar like that? Oh, and who's your friend? Thought you'd replace me that fast? I'm hurt," Bunga asked, then joked.

"I dunno, Bunga, for both those things. Wish I did, though," The cub now known as Kion said.

Beck was about to respond by introducing himself when he realized something. Perhaps he needed an alias. A name he can use so that, should he be discovered in the Pride Lands, he can remain "new" when he "arrived" to the Pride Lands in Lion King 2.

'But what name should I pick?' Beck thought. Then, reading the Lion King books paid off.

"The name's Kopa. Pleasure," Beck greeted.

Well however you did it, Kion, it was un-Bunga-lievable! And good to meet you, Kopa," Bing's said.

"Well, it was nice to meet you too, but I've got some more hunting to do, so I'll see you around, hopefully," Beck lied so he could leave without suspicion.

"See ya, Kopa," the duo said as they made their way towards Pride Rock.

'That was too close,' Beck thought as he made his way into the Outlands.

 **FLASHFOWARD**

The royal family, Kovu, and Vitani ran towards the edge of the embankment. Simba was at the center with Nala and Vitani to his right and Kovu and Kiara to his left.

"Beck!" Vitani shouted, looking at the falling combatants.

"Beck!" Kovu and Kiara yelled together in worry.

Simba jumped down the slope after him. Considering how much his daughter seemed to care about him, it was the least he could do. Plus, he saved his life a second ago, so there's that.

The two continued their descent only stopping near what was basically the point of no return. Beck managed to slow his descent to pull himself up onto a small ledge. He planted heavily.

Zira, on the other hand, was clinging for dear life into the rocks some distance below, handing by her front paws.

"Hold on, Beck!" Vitani yelled.

Just then, the dam of logs breaks causing the river the river suddenly begins to swell to many times its normal flow. Baka was the first to catch this.

"Simba!" She warned, "Simba- the river!"

The river is rapidly rushed to fill the canyon, while Simba continued leaping from rock face to rock face, trying to reach Beck.

Below, Zira hang precariously from the rock face.

Beck knew how this would go. While he did reach a paw to her, in the unlikely event things went differently, he decided to give her some last words she'll never forget. He had been waiting to give her this spiel for far too long now.

"You know, Zira," Beck began, "You and I are quite alike."

Zira looked up to the him, eyes filled with ferocity and panic, yet still had enough concentration to them to let Beck know she heard him.

"The only difference between the two of us is that while your long term plan to take over the Pride Lands failed, mine, to take you down, actually succeeded," Beck explained.

"Where are you going with this?" Zira hissed, as she continued to try and cling fir dear life.

"I'm just amazed how much you ignored your other two children. I mean, I was practically Nuka and Vitani's best friend, yet you never knew who I was until a few days ago," Beck explained. "Though, it's probably for the best, seeing as how you would have recognized me immediately."

Zira, still trying to hold on, looked at Beck with hate, she was on the verge of death, and he was just talking to her like it was some idle hit-chat. But then, Beck's words sunk in. They had met before?

Suddenly, Zira realized what he was talking about.

"Tell me, do you remember a certain cub named... _Kopa_?" Beck asked, letting out his inner bad-boy by flashing a mischievous grin.

"No!" Zira said in disbelief. "That's not true... that's impossible!"

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true," Beck said.

The shock of the reveal that Beck and Kopa were one in the same ended up causing Zira to go into such a rage, that she attempted to grab him with one of her claws, which failed miserably.

However, the removal of one of her paws, caused her to lose grip on the rock she was holding onto.

The Leader of the Outsiders screamed as she plummeted back first into the churning water below. The water and logs carried her under, and the flow in the canyon gradually subsided.

"Long live the king," Beck said, quoting a certain uncle.

'I've always wanted to say that,' Beck thought giddily to himself.

Kovu looked down where his mother fell, closed his eyes, and let out a sigh.

Simba is waiting on the rocks near Beck.

"Beck..." Simba started, holding out a paw.

"I'm sorry, sire, I tried," Beck said, slightly lying, as he took it.

Just as he reached Simba's level, he tried to lighten the mood.

"Do you think it's possible to NOT tell Rafiki's about this part?" he asked, hopefully.

"Sure," the king promised.

The two climbed their way out of the canyon, Simba got met by a nuzzle from his mate, while Vitani, Koru, and Kiara hounded Beck.

"You're okay!" Vitani said, giving him a quick nuzzle.

"I could have handled her, ya know," Kiara said, lightly punching Beck in the front left foreleg.

"Thanks, guys," Beck said in gratitude before turning to Kovu, looking apologetic.

"Sorry about your mom, Kovu, 'Tani," Beck apologized.

"It's alright," Kovu said. "You did what you could."

"Wow... that was really brave!" Pumbaa said as he approached the human-turned- Lion.

"Yeee-haaa!" Timing shouted in what Beck assumed as agreement.

"Come on, 'Tani, let's let these lovebirds have their moment," Beck said as he and Vitani stepped away to let Kovu and Kiara have their moment.

"Kovu..." Kiara tried to start.

"Oh, Kiara," Kovu interrupted, just happy Kiara wasn't put in any danger. The two nuzzled for a brief moment before Simba intervened.

"Kovu..." the king said. Kovu approached the monarch.

"I was wrong," he admitted. "You belong here."

"Ahem," Beck cleared his throat, causing Vitani, who was standing next to him, to snicker in amusement. "Hey, what am I, then? Decayed gazelle?"

Simba rolled his eyes at Beck's attempt at a joke. "You both belong here," he corrected.

Kiara walked up to where Kovu was, directly in front of her father, and leaned into him.

"Let's go home..." Simba then turned around to face the former Outsiders. "...all of us."

 **FLASHBACK**

'Well that trip was a frickin' waste,' Beck thought to himself.

He was still dumbfounded that he couldn't find ANY Outsiders **(1)**. He was sure he had the right den.

"Maybe they're not living there yet?" Beck theorized.

The brownish furred human-turned-lion was brought out of his musings by the sound of music.

 _"Why?_

 _Why even trust me at all?_

 _They say the Guard is my call._

 _But then come tell me I'm wrong."_

Beck looked to his left to find Kion, facing away from him, sullenly sitting on a rock formation overlooking a lake. Just as she saw him however, the second cub of Simba stood up began making his way towards the watering hole.

'Man, something must have messed him up,' Beck thought. He felt urged to follow him.

 _"Now what What should I do?_

 _And who Who do I turn to?_

 _Now everything feels so upside down."_

Keeping a good distance from the prince, Beck witnessed him gazing at his reflection in the water.

'Yeah, who didn't see _that_ coming?' Beck sarcastically thought, remembering the many movies he saw that have done this.

 _"Deep down, maybe I knew._

 _It was way too good to be true."_

Kion leapt from his spot he took up on a rock a few seconds before.

 _"With all my friends looking up to me._

 _Some leader I turned out to be."_ He heard Kion sing, but he didn't train his gaze on the cub as the sky began to depict a familiar figure.

'No way,' Beck thought, spying from behind the rock Kion had just jumped from moments prior.

"Kion..." A certain king of the past called to his grandson.

"Heyvi kabisa... Are you.."

"Yes, Kion. I am your grandfather."

"Mufasa. I've heard a lot about you," Kion remarked.

"And I've been watching you," Mufasa informed. "You are about to embark on a great journey, Kion, leader of the Lion Guard!"

"I'm not sure Dad's gonna let me lead the Lion Guard," Kion expressed his doubts. "He's worried that I can't handle it."

'Eh, Simba may have a point there. I mean, how old can he be, 7-8, in human years? It's like if the Baby Looney Tunes became superheroes,' Beck remarked in his head.

"Kion. Simba is worried. But he's worried because he loves you. Being leader of the Lion Guard will not always be easy," Mufasa cautioned.

"Then maybe Dad's right," Kion said,, dejected. "Maybe I'm not ready to lead. Or use the Roar. I'm not even sure I can control it! First it's super loud. Then it's just a squeak. And I...," he hesitated.

"I don't want to end up like Scar," Kion admitted.

'Huh, guess Kovu won't be the only one to be worried about unintentionally following his paw prints,' Beck silently remarked.

"Don't be afraid, Kion," Mufasa soothed. "Trust your instincts. The Roar will be there for you when you need it. As will a certain someone that is listening in to this conversation. And so will I. Until the Pride Lands' end..."

"Grandfather Mufasa. Don't go yet. Wait, someone else is here? Where are you?" Kion started looking around.

'Dang it,' Beck thought to himself for the tenth time since Mufasa alluded to his presence.

He stepped out in full view of the prince.

"Hey, Kion," Beck greeted awkwardly. "How's it going?"

"Kopa? What are you doing here?" Kion asked.

"Eh, I heard you singing, great voice by the way, and I got a bit curious about your plight," Beck admitted. "I thought I might be able to offer a bit of assistance. Your grandfather seems to trust me enough..."

"Well, if that's the case, what do you think I should do?" Kion asked.

"You want to know what I think?" Beck asked, eliciting a nod from Kion.

"Well, I'll admit, I'm a bit skeptical, but the way I see it, The Lion Guard needs a leader. No one else can do it, but you. It'll be hard, but you won't have to do it alone. You'll have your family and friends, including me, to guide you and help you along the way. Trust your instincts. As for the Roar, it's just like Mufasa said, it'll be there when you need it," Beck explained.

"Trust my instincts. The Roar will be there when I need it," Kion repeated.

'He's gonna start singing again, isn't he,' Beck thought to himself. He mentally shrugged, he might as well sing along too.

" _Maybe my journey is far from done_

 _They need a leader and I'm the one,_ " Kion began, turning around from the place in the sky where Mufasa appeared.

 _"So now it's time for them all to see_

 _The Lion you were born to be,"_ Beck chimed in as the duo began walking back to, presumably, Pride Rock.

" _It is time_

 _To take the lead on my own_

 _It is time_

 _For something bigger Than I've ever known_

 _No need to wonder The choice is done Now I believe I'm truly am the one"_ Kion sang as he and Beck hopped onto some rocks towards to the tree where Kion started his song.

 _"So is it time?_

 _Is it time?_

 _Yes._

 _It is time,"_ The prince finished. Beck decided to only sing those two lines, it was mostly Kion's song anyway.

"You bet it is," Beck said in response to Kion's last four lines.

"Kion! Kion!" All of a sudden, Bunga appeared, and he seemed very distressed. Though, when he noticed Beck, he gave him a quick greeting of, "oh, hi Kopa," to which Beck replied with, "'Sup."

"Janja! The hyenas! They're attacking the gazelles!" Bunga informed.

"What? Oh, no!" Kion said, concerned.

"Yeah, we should probably take care of that," Beck said as the trio made their way to the scene.

 **FLASHFOWARD**

The morning after the battle was when the blessing took place. Everyone in the Pride was there. Kovu and Kiara sat in front of some rocks, while the King, Queen, and Rafiki stood in front of them to the couple's right, while Beck, Vitani, Timon, Pumbaa, and Zazu stood to the left of and behind the couple.

Simba sent a look Rafiki's way, a signal telling him to do his thing. Rafiki's took a moment to look to the sky, to Mufasa.

Beck always thought Rafiki mentally said, 'I can't believe you were right,' or something similar, to Mufasa, the only one, besides Beck himself, that knew Kovu and Kiara would end up together.

The mandrill blessed the union of Kiara and Kovu with a shake of his staff over their heads.

Once that concluded, both royal couples, King Simba and Queen Nala and Princess Kiara and the newly dubbed Prince Kovu shared loving nuzzles before the latter couple, as well as Beck and Vitani, entered the 'U' shape of many members of the newly expanded pride.

"I love moments like this," Pumbaa said, tears threatening to flow.

"Yeah," Timon agreed.

"...Love. Not like... love!" The duo yelled, finally letting the tears flow, much to Zazu's dismay. The bird needed to cover his wing due to the amount of tears that weee splashing on him.

Little did he know, that Beck was actually shedding a couple tears as well. This didn't go unnoticed by Vitani.

"Are you... crying?" she asked, partly confused and partly shocked.

"I always cry at blessings," Beck quipped in response, after which he began humming "We Are One" in his head.

Simba and Nala began leading the procession through the rest of the pride, with Kiara and Kovu in tow. Each row of lions, starting with Beck's row, then Vitani's, and so on, bowed their heads to the royal family as they passed.

Both couples made their way to the tip of Pride Rock, overlooking the Pride Lands.

First, Simba roared, and then Kovu, who was to his left, gave one of his own. Then, all four of them roared together. They roared to all the animals that had gathered at Pride Rock, the largest crowd since the birth of Kiara's little brother, Kion.

The rest of the pride roared in answer, including Beck and Vitani, the former never feeling more alive.

Once the roar had subsided, and the animals below all began cheering, the clouds parted, and Simba was illuminated by a sunbeam.

"Well done, my son," Beck knew Mufasa had said via narration. He never knew if Simba had actually heard his deceased father, but he looked happy, seeing as how he knows he was there due to the leaves, representing Mufasa's spirit, circling around him.

Both Rafiki and Beck smiled and nodded to themselves, and to Mufasa, as the prophecy finally came to its fruition.

"We are one."

* * *

 **THE END (Wait a second, NO IT'S NOT!)**

* * *

The human-turned-lion smiled in content. He did it. After Mufasa knows how long, he had successfully lived through his favorite movie of all time.

The newly blessed couple made their way towards Vitani and Beck, having fulfilled their duties at the tip of Pride Rock.

"Thanks again, Beck, for everything," Kiara thanked.

"Same here," Kovu chimed in.

"Eh, it was the least I could do," Beck replied. Kovu then turned to his sister.

"No hard feelings?" He asked.

"None at all," Vitani responded.

As the three began to start up some small talk, Beck silently wondered what he would do now. Perhaps he could venture out of the Pride Lands to find the Lion Guard?

Despite his time with 'Tani, Kovu and Kiara, he found the Guard to be more, say, action-oriented. Granted, having connections with royalty was nice, but Beck needed action in his life, otherwise it would just be surviving, not living. Plus, he had missed the Guard terribly ever since they left all that time ago.

'I wonder how they're holding up?' Beck wondered. He went ahead and pushed that thought to the side, for now.

He was about to voice his plan about leaving to the newly blessed couple and Vitani, when something in the air caught his eye. It was a small shadow that, from his point of view, was in front of the sun.

It looked to be some sort of bird, and it didn't look very good, seeing as how its wings were flapping at a very slow rate.

However, once the injured bird began to descend at a rapid rate, Beck knew someone had to take action.

"Zazu!" Beck called, startling his three friends.

"Yes, Beckham," Zazu asked, flying over to him, anything was better than standing near Timon and Pumbaa, who were STILL crying.

"You need to help that bird up there," Beck pointed to the falling bird in concern.

Zazu's eyes widened in concern once he turned his head and saw the descending animal.

"Oh dear," Zazu says as he took flight.

This action began to draw the attention of the other lions, if Beck's shout for Zazu hadn't.

Zazu flew past the injured bird, pulled an about face, and dived after it.

He did this so that he could easily wrap his legs around the bird's midsection and slow his descent, as well as his.

A vein had popped out of Zazu's forehead as he began to flap his wings to slow himself, and the falling avian, as concerned lions watched from below.

Luckily, the servant of the king succeeded, and gently placed the bird down on Pride Rock.

The bird must have been through a lot, as one of his legs was bent awkwardly, his feathered body was littered with lacerations, and his wings looked to be in very exhausted condition.

Our main quartet were the first to reach the fallen avian.

"Get Rafiki over here!" Kiara shouted.

'He must have flown a long time,' Vitani mentally observed. She was no Rafiki, but she knew a tired bird when she saw one. However, not only was this bird tired, but it was severely injured as well.

While Kovu simply looked at the bird in confusion, Beck and Kiara, however, were shocked once they managed to get a good look at the injured animal.

They knew this bird.

They exchanged bewildered and shocked glances before refocusing on the wounded avian, now being attended to by Rafiki.

So many questions began racing in their minds.

'What happened to him? How did this happen? Where are the others? Are they okay?' They both thought.

But before they could get to voice those questions, Beck wanted to assure to himself, and the rest of the pride, that he was truly talking to the bird he thought he was.

"Ono?"

* * *

 **And… scene.**

 **(1): Just so we're clear, the way I interpreted "Lions of the Outlands" was that I thought that Zira and family lived somewhere else BEFORE living in the termite mound we see in the movie. That was where Beck checked in this chapter. "Lions of the Outlands" had not happened yet, ergo they were not there.**

 **Let's play FIND THE REFERENCE.**

 **There are two big references in this chapter. See if you can find them. Answers can be submitted in the reviews and PMs. Hint: It's NOT the "crying at blessings" comment. That is just a joke that is used a lot, NOT a reference to anything in particular.**

 **Firstly, thank you all so much for reading this story. It means a lot that people are reading and liking my work. Second, I bet you all are probably wondering the same things Beck is wondering. Right? Well, you'll find out the answers in the sequel! That's right. Well, Hakuna Mattata is getting a sequel. Although this should be old news to a lot you, what you all DON'T know is what I'm going to be titling this new project.**

 **The sequel will be titled _When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going_ , (Sensing a pattern here?). I named it that due to the main plotlines of the past and present being able to apply to it. Beck joining the Lion Guard in the past, and the present storyline...well... I'll leave it to your interpretation for now. Let me know how you liked the story. Feel free to submit theories about what you think happened to Ono and what will happen in the sequel. I look forward to what you all might come up with.**

 **One final order of business. I figured it is right for you to know that I will be taking a bit of a break before writing the sequel. I have many other projects (and summer assignments, ugh.) I'm working on, and I would very much like to give them some attention before diving back into this story.**

 **So, if you only read this story, it'll probably be a while before you hear from me again. I might post Ch. 1 around MAYBE the end of July to mid-August. When it does, I will be sure to post an update on THIS fic. so all of my followers will be notified that it's is up, so you need not worry about that.**

 **As for readers of my other fics, well, you'll just have to wait and see. I don't want to spoil you now, don't I?**

 **Don't forget to submit your feedback and questions in the reviews and/or PMs. I always love to hear what you all think of my work and what you think it'll lead too. I also want to give a huge thank you to everyone who enjoyed this fic. Thanks for sticking with me through this whole thing. I hope you liked it.**

 **Hope to see you all in the sequel!**


	14. Sequel Info

**Okay... You know how you say one thing, but then you end up doing another? Yeah, I just did that.**

 **Here's the story, see, originally, I had a rough idea for what I wanted the present storyline to be for the sequel, but I could never think of a way to make it longer without having to grasp at straws.**

 **However, along came a guest reviewer named Calvin, who's prediction of the sequel's present plot (Which was actually VERY close to what I had in mind), gave me the perfect idea.**

 **So, since I revealed that Calvin's review was very close to what I had in mind, I'm going to go ahead and reveal to you the basic plotline of the sequel now. The main reason being that I wanted to thank Calvin for giving that review, it helped me a lot.**

 **So, first up, the flashbacks will mostly focus on Lion Guard stuff, when it's not doing that, it'll be Rafiki and Beck bonding. So, that's straight forward.**

 **The present storyline will go down like this...**

 **It takes place before large civilizations even existed, so Pre-Ancient Mesopotmia, that kind of thing.**

 **It will focus on our main quartet, Beck, Kiara, Kovu, and Vitani, traveling with a healed Ono to help the Guard. There will be a story told by Ono, while he is hurt, explaining the specifics, but let's just say humans hunt WAY better than hyenas. Relationships will be pushed to the breaking point as it is a literal fight for survival.**

 **Wait a second, I have a better idea. Trailer time!**

* * *

"Bunga...," Kion placed his paw on the honey badger's left shoulder, marking him as a member of the Guard. "You are the bravest!"

 **FANFICFAN920 Presents...**

"Fuli," Kion placed his paw on her front left foreleg, marking her as a member of the Guard. "You are the fastest."

 **...A FANFICFAN920 fic.**

"Ono," Kion placed his paw on Ono's left wing, marking him as a member of the Guard. "You are the keenest of sight." Ono took a moment to admire the new mark.

 **Sometimes, a little lie...**

"Beshte," Kion placed his paw on his front left foreleg, marking him as a member of the Guard. "You are the strongest."

 **...is all it takes.**

"Kopa," Kion was about to place his paw on Beck's right front foreleg, a look of shock fell on the human-turned-lion's face, when he realized something.

"Oh, wait, there isn't another spot, is there?" Kion said. "Sorry, Kopa."

* * *

"I'm in, though _Kopa_ , was it? You have some explaining to do," Fuli said, causing Beck to gulp slightly.

* * *

"It was horrible..." Ono began.

* * *

"You mean, you still haven't told them?" Fuli asked.

"How can I?" Beck countered.

* * *

"Come on, let's move!" Kion yelled, dodging spears.

* * *

"How long?" Vitani asked.

"How long what?"

"HOW LONG WERE YOU _LYING_ TO ME?!"

* * *

"I know that I lied to them for ages and did nothing to make things better than I remember, but underneath all that, deep down, I'm a good lion, and I need you to tell me that I'm good, Fuli. Tell me, _please._. Tell me that I'm good," Beck desperately pleaded.

"You want to know the truth, Beck? I don't know anymore."

* * *

"No. After everything I've done, I deserve this," Beck said solemnly.

* * *

 **WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING**

* * *

"Till the Pride Lands End..." Kion started.

"Lion Guard defend!" Kion and the Guard finished.

"Yeah, I am never saying that, _ever_ ," Beck said.

* * *

 **COMING THIS JULY (OR AUGUST)**

* * *

 **Once again, a special thanks to Calvin for giving me the inspiration to be MUCH more confident in this fic.**

 **Also, since this inspiration has me so pumped, I MIGHT be able to get this fic. out sooner. So, at max, a month. I still have summer assignments (ugh) so, ya know.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading, and uhh... yeah, I'll see you all in the sequel.**

 **Go ahead and comment in the reviews or Pm me, if you want.**


	15. An Explanation (Thanks to DaxLion)

**I really have to stop doing this.**

 **So, why have I updated AGAIN after saying the fic. is over?**

 **Well, I just received another Guest review that kind of stuck with me and I felt the need to respond to it.**

 **Here is the review:**

 **"I do not like the character of Beckhem, He sent Nuka to his dead so happily and only after words felt bad about it, then he tormented Zira in her last moments and lied about trying to save her. If you show his backstory with Nuka, it will make Beckhem more of a monster. Then there's the fact that Beckhem had no roll in this world because everything would have turned out the same without him."**

 **-DaxLion**

 **Well, DaxLion, I'm glad you said that. Actually, after reading this review, I realized that a good chunk of my readers may feel this way. So, I guess I owe you all a bit of an explanation.**

 **Yes, Beck's character is a bit of an a**hole, I admit that. What you said about him is completely, totally true. The next fic. is where those consequences REALLY start to hit Beck. Has anyone ever seen the Netflix series BoJack Horseman? First of all, watch it, it's an amazing show (If you can get through the first few episodes). Second, I'm drawing some parallels with the show and this fic.**

 **You see, BoJack starred in a popular sitcom during the 90's, and hasn't done anything of note since. His main problem is that the choices he makes and who he is as a person continually sabotages his chances to make his life better.**

 **Beck's time with the Lion Guard is what he considers his glory days. He had nothing to worry about... he was just a cub. Now, far removed from that time, Beck arrives at Lion King 2. Now, Lion King 2 is one of his favorite movies of all time, so, as any superfan would do, he would go through the movie and try not to change a lot, for fear of messing something up. He didn't take advantage of his "omnipotence."**

 **HOWEVER, the consequences of that don't smack him in the face until after the movie. He realizes only after the fact that he could have made things better, but he was blinded by his selfish desires to live through the movie HE loved (Just like Zira being blinded by revenge), as in, he didn't see the characters as living beings, he still saw them as characters.**

 **The Guard coming back into the picture is going to be VERY important to the story of Beck's character because it's essentially going to be Beck's past confronting his present. Will the Guard recognize the Beck they left behind? Will Fuli recognize the Beck she knew?**

 **Now, to address the fact that Beckham had no role. Well... that's kind of by design. Remember early in the story that Mufasa put Beck there to "solve a conflict that will befall the Pride Lands", and Beck thought it was Lion King 2? Yeah, Beck was wrong. The conflict in the SEQUEL is actually the reason why Mufasa put him there. This wilkl be explained more in the sequel.**

 **Anyway, when I said relationships will be put to the test, I meant it. Beck's relationships with EVERYONE are going to be put in jeopardy during this fic.**

 **And he might not be able to save them all. Will Beck be able to earn forgiveness for his misdeeds, and even if he DOES, will he forgive himself?**

 **Well, you just have to read the sequel to find out. Anyway, thanks to DaxLion for the review and I hope you all have a great day. See you in the sequel!**


	16. Dark Beck AU-fic in works! (Trailer)

**Hello Fellow Readers and Writers!**  
 **Yes, it's me, FanficFan920! And I want to talk to you about possibility. There are SO many possibilities for how something may turn out. But have you ever wondered what might have happened if you chose differently, or took a different path? Well, if you're fans of my fic, "Well, Hakuna Mattata," you're about to find out.**

 **You see, this all started because of a review I got on "Well, Hakuna Mattata", it reads:**

* * *

 **" _Beckhem, could be the villain of his own story._** _ **His motivation would be to become 'King of The Pride-Lands', I could see his love for the movie turning him into a villain, he has all the cunning of Scar and an evil in his heart.**_  
 _ **  
** **I could see him using Fuli, to destroy the lion guard from within by creating a conflict that places Kion, Kiara and Kovu in a position as villains.**_

 _ **It should be easy for him to off Simba and Nala, I see him drugging the two of them with the knowledge he gained from Rafiki and also getting Kion to off the rest of his own family using the roar by mistake, after that Kion would give up living and die.**_

 _ **Beckhem then can take the throne and have Vitani as his queen. He would mostly likely kill Rafiki "his father "to prove to himself that he is evil. Because everyone is a character and not real he will feel no remorse for what he has done."**_  
 **-NarUto23X**

* * *

 **So, it got me thinking. What if Beck took a darker path? Maybe not EXACTLY like the one in the review, but something that more suits my style of writing myself as a villain. Would he make a great villain? Well, I figured, why not find out?**

 **This fic. is going to put a greater emphasis on Lion Guard than my other fic. Mainly because I don't want Beck to replace Scar or Zira, who are perfectly good villains and don't need to be added upon. Additionally, Beck still greatly admires the original Lion King cast. So, despite Beck being darker, it's because of the choices that he makes, rather than the person that he his, that makes him a bad guy. There will be other motivations, but for now, I will keep those under wraps.**

 **This version of him is just like the one that can be seen in "Well, Hakuna Mattata" and it's sequel, the only difference is that he was brought to the Pride Lands in SLIGHTLY different circumstances, he has seen all of Season 1 of Lion Guard, and he makes different choices.**

 **So, who's ready to see Beck be bad to the bone? I bring you a trailer for "Well, Be Prepared."**

 **P.S. This story is dedicated to NarUto23X and nightmaster000. Without them, you would not be reading this right now.**

* * *

"Ugh!" Beck screamed in annoyance. "This show is a joke!"

 **FANFICFAN920 Presents...**

Beck smile widened at the figure he saw before him.

"Awesome!" He yelled.

* * *

 **Based on ideas from NarUto23X and nightmaster000.**

* * *

"Well, well, well, if it isn't his majesty himself. The great Simba," Beck remarked.  
"Big fan, by the way, though I liked you better when you sounded like Ferris Bueller instead of that guy from the Directv commercials."

Simba could only respond with a face that Beck thought meant, "WTF?"

* * *

"I'm gonna TEAR 'EM LIMB FROM LIMB!" Beck shouted in rage.

* * *

"We're not going to let you take over the Pride Lands!" Kion yelled.

"Take over the Pride Lands?" Beck asked, before bursting out laughing.

* * *

"I don't want to take over the Pride Lands!" Beck declared.

* * *

"Fighting you all is SO much more fun." Beck declared, a mad smile gracing his face.

* * *

Kion had managed to pin Beck to the ground, but he hesitated.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Kion? DO IT! You want to stop me?" Beck asked. "You're going to have to kill me. So why don't you do it already?"

* * *

 **Enter a new world...**

* * *

"Call me Beckham ONE more time..."

* * *

 **...where he didn't hold back.**

* * *

"I really do like you, Kion, I mean, you're Sherman, who doesn't like Sherman?" Beck said.

* * *

Beck lunged at an unseen combatant.

* * *

Fuli runs alongside an animal, but a cloud of dust blocks her from seeing who it is.

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Kion yelled in anguish.

* * *

Ono uses his eyesight to see the same dust cloud Fuli was running beside.

* * *

Bunga jumps between from gazelle to gazelle.

* * *

Beshte pushes a boulder off a cliff, attempting to block an impass.

* * *

"Till the Pride Lands end..." Kion started.

"...Lion Guard defend, blah, blah, blah," Beck said mockingly. "Seriously, that was the battle cry you came up with? Ash Ketchum could do better than you."

* * *

A Roar can be heard, it sounds similar to the Roar of the Elders, yet, it sounds more evil and ominous.

* * *

 **Well, Be Prepared**

* * *

"I'm a Lion of my word," Beck warned, before bursting out in an insane fit of laughter before running away.

* * *

 **Coming Soon**

* * *

 ***shiver* Geez, I wrote that and I'm getting chills.**

 **If you want to get a handle on what this version of Beck is like, think Deadpool, Scar, and the Joker from _The Dark Knight_ , mixed with a dash of the genie from _Aladdin_ for extra pop culture references.**

 **IMPORTANT: This will NOT, I repeat, NOT interfere with the writing of "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going." This is will be worked on concurrently with that fic. I must admit, It's been a desire of mine to write an OC villain, and now that I have the inspiration too, well, let's just say that The Lion Guard are in BIG trouble. Mwah-hahahahahahahahahahaha.**

 **So, what do you guys think? Review or PM me your thoughts! Do you like this darker version of Beck? Do you want to see more? Let me know! Seriously, I need to know.**

 **Hope to see ya real soon!**


	17. Sorry for the Wait! Here's Why

Greetings my wonderful readers!

Okay, so, I have some apologies to make…. Well, I only have one apology technically, but you get the picture.

I'm extremely sorry for the delay in both my "Well, Hakuna Matata" sequel and Evil Beck AU fic., especially the latter, seeing as how the anticipation for it seems to be becoming greater and greater.

The reasons for my radio silence as of late are numerous. One of the most important being school. I am a junior in high school taking three AP classes, and am part of my school's newspaper staff of only 10 people, including me. So, yeah, that keeps me busy a lot. Whenever I do get time to write though, it's normally been for collabs I'm doing with friends that need them by a certain deadline.

Also, I have begun writing another story for another fandom that I wanted to get off the ground before I lost inspiration, but even that story's been held up a bit too 'cause of school, so.. yeah.

The other reason pertains mostly to "The Lion Guard." I haven't really been able to follow the show that much as of late, and that is kind of by design. From the little I've seen, I've noticed how the conflict with Scar has been slowly escalating over this past season. It's a conflict that is very intriguing to me, so I'm holding off on writing.

This way, I will be able to incorporate Beck into the big picture more seamlessly, especially where the Evil Beck AU fic. Is concerned.

As for the "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going," it's the same thing. I want to be sure I can incorporate Beck into the Lion Guard's adventures while still maintaining continutity with its predecessor. However, seeing the episodes that are on the docket, I am really interested to see them. I have downloaded the "Disney NOW" app so that once Season 2 is over, I will be able to binge it in its entirety and spend some time planning on where Beck will fit in to the group.

Hopefully Season 2 will have the conflict with Scar resolved by its end. However, if it escalates into Season 3 than I MAY have to hold off on the Evil Beck fic a bit longer, but the "Well, Hakuna Matata" sequel should be able to move forward in production by that time.

So, in the meantime, I have a challenge for all of you. If you are watching the show on a regular basis, feel free to send me your theories about Beck's involvement (Whether he's good guy or villain) via PM (or review if you are a Guest). I always love interacting with you all, and hopefully it will be a good substitute until I can confidently resume writing again.

So, for now, enjoy watching "The Lion Guard," and feel free to PM me your thoughts and theories!

Wait, I can't just leave you all hanging like this without a tease! So, for sitting through my little rant, here's a special preview of my Evil Beck AU fic. Who's title is….. "Well, Be Prepared" (Get it? 'Cause it's Scar's catchphrase. Oh, forget it.)

* * *

It was midday in the Pride Lands, and we see Beck on Pride Rock, moving his muddy paws along the rock like he was washing a car. He was writing the message "Long Live Evil" in various sizes. Was it mean? Yes. Was it a bit cliché? Also yes, but that's how Beck liked it. **  
**

**_They say I'm trouble_**

 ** _They say I'm bad_**

 ** _They say I'm evil_**

 ** _And that makes me glad_**

"Hey, stop that, you little miscreant!" Simba yelled as he emerged from the den and noticed Beck's handiwork.

The Dark furred cub fled immediately upon hearing the King's yell of irritation. Once a safe distance away, he decided to head down to the watering hole to rinse off his paws, singing all the while. _  
_

 ** _A dirty no-good_**

 ** _Down to the bone_**

 ** _Your worst nightmare_**

 ** _Can't take me home_**

Trekking mud everywhere he went, the cub that lions had been called the "True Cub of Scar," pranced about as he continued his song. _  
_

 ** _So I've got some mischief_**

 ** _In my blood_**

 ** _Can you blame me_**

 ** _I never got no love_**

'Well, that last part may have been a lie, but who's keeping track? They pretty much believe me to be his kid anyway,' Beck thought to himself in amusemennt. During this verse, Beck walked with a bit of attitude about him. _  
_

 ** _They think I'm callous_**

 ** _A low-life hood_**

 ** _I feel so useless_**

 ** _Misunderstood_**

Beckhappenedupon a cub chowing down on a fairly large piece of meat.

"Don't mind if I do," Beck said to himself, and without any hesitation, Beck easily bit off one section of the large piece offmeat, much to the dismay of the cub that was eating it.

"Jerk!" he said.

 ** _Mirror, mirror on the wall_**

 ** _Who's the baddest of them all_**

 ** _Welcome to my wicked world, wicked world_**

Finally, Beck's destination entered his line of sight. It's go time.

The mischievous cub made a break for it towards the whole. With his still-muddy paws, Beck climbed over various animals, including zebras, giraffes, and even Kion.

"Hey!" He said in annoyance. _  
_

 ** _I'm rotten to the core, core_**

 ** _Rotten to the core_**

 ** _I'm rotten to the core, core_**

 ** _Who could ask for more_**

 ** _I'm nothing like the cub next, like the cub next door_**

 ** _I'm rotten to the, I'm rotten to the_**

 ** _I'm rotten to the core_**

After having enough that, Beck decided to jump off from an elephant (what else?) and wash his dirty paws off. Though that didn't stop him from doing in front of where other animals drank. Their looks of disgust were worth it. _  
_

"Lion Guard! To me!" Kion ordered.

"Welp, I guess that's my cue to vamoose," Beck bid goodbye to his nemesis as he emerged from the watering hole and broke into a run. But the Guard wasn't going to let him get away that easily.

"Catch me if you can, suckers! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Beck laughed maniacally as he made his escape with the Guard giving chase.


	18. CGI LK news rant (and a shameless promo)

Greetings Readers! *Dodges Tomatoes* Shoot! Okay, I'm sorry for not updating. School's been really kicking me in the butt. Guess that's what three AP classes can do to you. Plus, I have a job with my High School's varsity baseball team that requires me to attend all of their games. Anyway, my latest Lion King material IS coming along, I promise. It's just coming at a snail's pace. I'll try to get it out as soon as possible, all I ask is patience. Heck, the only reason I'm updating this right now is because a piece of news about the CGI Lion King came out that kind of has me miffed.

So, yeah, apparently the movie isn't going to have Be Prepared in it. Now, I'm assuming you all know me by now, and realize that this has me really ticked considering it was my fav. song in the whole movie. Heck, when Aggregate Dragon had that crossover contest I USED Be Prepared in my entry.

However, I also feel a bit relieved, 'cause I think the reason their not using it is because Baron Mordo (I'm calling him that because the same guy that played him in Doctor Strange is the voice of Scar) can't sing the song. In that case, you dodged a bullet.

But, I'm wondering what you all think. Should Be Prepared be included in the movie, or should it be left out and possibly not butchered? Send me your Thoughts in PMs or reviews.

P.S. As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of movies. So much so I actually downloaded this app (I have an iPhone, mind you.) called Stardust, where you can post 30-second reactions to Movies, Tv episodes, and even trailers. I post A LOT more on there (since, ya know, it only takes 30-seconds). Plus, there's the added bonus of you guys seeing what I look like IRL. (Honestly don't know why you'd care about that, but its true, so I'm saying it.) So, if you're a movie person like me, and you want to hear my thoughts on them. Go download the app, create an account (It's free), and follow me on it within 24 hours of doing so, so I'll know it's one of you guys that follow my stuff on this site. My username on it is Bman920 ('Cause my OCs name starts with "B" and the 920 is from my PenName, get it?).

Anyway, that's all from me. See y'all next time! (Hopefully with a completed Chapter 1 of one or both of my stories!)


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